Challenge
by Baxter54132
Summary: The warmth from the start of their argument fades as the barb hits a little too close to home. "What's that supposed to mean?" "At least I'm trying. You're so bad you can't even get into the first row of your section." Maki lets out a satisfied hmmph. - Band AU NicoMaki, NozoEli, RinPana, KotoUmi, TsubaHono.
1. Chapter 1

Hello! This is my 2016 nanowrimo project. My goal for this fic is to reflect the characters as best as I can while also covering them in drama. I will do my best to update this every weekend, and if the chapters stay at this length there should be between 7 and 10 chapters.

Please enjoy, if you see any music terms that you don't understand please let me know, and I will add a brief definition.

* * *

 **Monday – 20 days**

Not many people can say they enjoy Mondays. However, Rin is one of these rare individuals. She likes all days, especially days where she can play the maracas. Thanks to band class, this is most days. As a first year, Rin is still working her way up the ranks in the percussion section, however this just gives her the opportunity to try something new. Just a few weeks ago she was playing the triangle, but now she's been promoted to the maracas and the timpani! Not at the same time of course, that would be weird.

Rin's choice of instrument gives her prime real estate in the band room. This means that as the gossip happens it floats its way back to her ears. For example, the flute section leader, Kairi, has a crush on Ms. Aida, or so they say. Rin has an incredibly reliable source in the second flautist, Kayo-chin.

Speaking of Kayo-chin, she's Rin's best friend in the whole wide world. Rin likes to spend time in the flute section before rehearsal starts. Kayo-chin usually has an update from her first classes, and even if she doesn't Rin can always think of something for them to talk about. Kayo-chin seems grateful for the company and it always brightens Rin's day.

Rin's other friends include Kotori, Maki, Nozomi, Umi, Nico, Honoka, and Eli! They're all in different years, so Rin thinks it's incredible that they could all become friends. Kotori sits 6th flute, so Rin gets to pass by her every morning when she goes to chat with Kayo-chin. There are only 6 flutes in the section, but Kotori is easy going so she doesn't mind sitting last, even as a second year. Rin's not sure she'd be able to do the same.

The flutes sit all the way to the left of the band, but most of Rin's friends sit on the opposite side of the room. Nozomi plays the oboe, so she's about halfway around the second row. She always greets Rin with a bright grin. As the only oboist and a third year, Nozomi carries a lot on her plate. She's also one of the most responsible people in their gang. Rin knows she can count on Nozomi to set her straight if she ever does anything too crazy.

Umi sits a couple seats over from Nozomi. She sits 10th clarinet, which is second to last. Rin thinks Umi tries really hard. She comes in early a lot to practice, and even asks Ms. Aida for extra assistance. The clarinet doesn't look that difficult to Rin, but it must be, Rin knows that every instrument is hard in its own way.

The only other clarinet that Rin's friends with is Nico, and she sits 7th. As a third year, Nico probably should sit higher in the section. One of the sweet sweet gossips that Rin heard was that Nico sat first chair their previous year. Then this fall she completely bombed the chairing audition and was placed last. She challenged a few times to rise to 7th, but then mysteriously stopped. Her motivations confused thousands. Okay, maybe they only confused dozens.

Rin knows why though. The reason is the snarky red head that now sits directly behind her. She's Rin's second most favorite person in the room, Maki. Maki's a first year, just like Rin, and though the two of them attended junior high together they didn't become friends until high school. Maki plays the trumpet, and she sits third behind Honoka and Eli. Rin thinks it's nice that they all sit so close together, it's just too bad that they're on the opposite side of the room from Kayo-chin.

Anyway, Maki joined the band with Rin and Kayo-chin back at the beginning of the year, and Nico took an immediate interest to her. Rin thinks they became friends rather quickly, though they don't act in the way friends usually do. Rin's a little confused by it, but she's slowly getting used to their playful banter. Sometimes their behavior comes across as a bit silly even for the self-proclaimed goofiest member of the group.

Maki has Tsubasa on her left and Honoka on her right. Neither of them do much to keep the bantering in check, so Rin can often hear their exchanges when they take breaks during practice. Rin can't really blame Honoka; the bubbly girl does plenty of other things for their group. Honoka is the magnet that dragged their little group together. Rin remembers chatting with Kayo-chin on the first day of class, when suddenly Honoka planted herself between them. She then dragged them over to the trumpet section and introduced them to her older friends. Rin still wonders why Honoka picked them, but when asked she only replies. "Intuition."

Last but certainly not least is Eli, who sits first trumpet. She's a strict trumpet section leader, but Rin knows she has a soft spot for the antics that go on to her left. If Rin could vote someone most likely to rule the world, she would vote for Eli. Eli is always focused on her goal; she's always looking forward. Rin really likes that about her.

Rin's eyes shift down to her music as she tightens her grasp on the timpani mallets. She probably should pay attention to class or she'll miss her entrance. The band started playing at measure 62 a few moments ago, so Rin should be okay. She doesn't play until measure 70… oh it's already measure 75. Dang, Rin pulls out her pencil to scratch a note onto the music.

 _Focus! Don't miss your entrance nya! ^w^_

This should help fix her problem, emphasis on should. Despite telling herself to focus only a few moments ago, Rin's eyes shift to the wall clock. 11:28. That means in just two short minutes they'll be done! Then Rin can go have lunch! Rin loves lunch, though she does wish they ate a little later.

At Otonokizaka, each student has 5 classes a day. The school isn't very big, so they all eat lunch together after second hour. Band practice is always during second hour, because it gives them a little extra time to pack up their instruments without worrying about being late for class. It also facilitates challenges. It's not like anyone in the band challenges except for Maki.

Rin should explain challenging too, it is how she got the timpani part after all! Basically, after a chairing audition everyone is assigned a seat in the band. The only way someone can move up or down in the section is by challenging or being challenged. The challenge is always a section from the music for their next concert, and Ms. Aida always picks which section they are going to play. If the lower chaired member performs the part better, then they get to take the higher chair. If it's a tie, the high member retains their seat. It's easy to challenge. Ms. Aida has challenge slips in her office that need to be filled out, and then just need to be delivered to the person being challenged at the beginning of class. Most people only challenge once or twice and then are satisfied with where they end up, but in Maki's case, she challenges Honoka every day.

Why does Maki challenge everyday? She says it's to get away from Nico, but Rin thinks Maki just really wants to succeed. She seems driven, maybe she feels this is an obstacle she must overcome? Rin's not really sure, and she decides to give her brain a rest when the bell cuts through her thoughts.

Ms. Aida dismisses the group, and perhaps makes a comment towards Rin about not missing entrances but she hardly notices. It's time for lunch.

* * *

Lunch is Honoka's favorite time of the day. Sure, she loves band, who doesn't love band, but she also loves to eat. She utilizes her 25 brief minutes to catch up with all of her friends. The group's grown huge since the start of the new school year, but she's not complaining. Speaking of meeting up with her friends, she's not even at lunch yet even though it's been going on for five whole minutes.

The source of her tardiness is her daily challenge with Maki, which she won. She doesn't mind playing Maki every day, but she feels bad because Maki tries so hard. Maki's still young; she'll be an incredible trumpet player in a couple of years. Maki doesn't exactly take advice from others, not even upper classmen. That's what's so endearing about her.

Honoka chuckles under hear breath as she remembers Maki scoffing when she offered her opinion. The redhead had murmured something about not needing any help, but she still listened to everything Honoka had to say. It's a fond memory for Honoka, and she credits it to how they starting becoming friends.

Honoka's so lost in thought that she almost misses the entrance to the cafeteria. Fortunately, she notices at the last seconds and veer sharply right to enter the swinging doors. The group has a standard table near the vending machines which they sit at every day. Honoka and Maki usually show up late, but the group always holds spots for them.

Honoka beats Maki to the table today and she takes her space happily. The lunch tables at Otonokizaka are the long ones with picnic benches, so the nine of them fit comfortably on one. The first years sit on one end, the second years in the middle, and then the third years on the opposite end. It works out perfectly for Honoka because she's in perfect positioning to talk with almost anyone! Usually she starts out chatting with Umi and Kotori, and then it spreads through the group. Honoka digs into her lunch; her mom packed her a super cute bento. Umi and Kotori are eating quietly, which of course means it's the perfect time for Honoka to tell a story!

"So I saw this dog yesterday." Honoka thinks it's the perfect conversation starter.

Umi seems to disagree, but she humors her anyway. "What did you do?"

"What did I do?" Honoka feigns hurt. Umi shoots her an incredulous glare, and Kotori also looks concerned. Honoka laughs, "I didn't do anything!"

The outburst is met with seven blank stares as she attracts the attention of the remainder of the table. Honoka's eyes shift from person to person slowly, but no one wants to say anything. Honoka settles for staring at the table and she musters up her confession. "Fine, I fed it."

"I knew it!" Umi smacks on fist against the plastic table. Honoka can feel the heat radiating off her friend. "You can't feed random dogs Honoka! What if you were bitten? Dogs can carry illnesses like rabies! Do you know how many shots you'd need if you got rabies?"

Honoka ducks her head, and she can hear a few of her friends giggling around them as Umi continues to seethe. She murmurs her reply behind a half-cracked grin, "No."

Honoka's inability to respond only further angers her longtime friend. "Four Honoka. You would need to get four shots if you got rabies."

"Buuuuuuuut." Honoka slides her hand between Umi and herself, palm facing outwards. "I didn't get bit."

"This time," Nico chimes in. Umi nods fervently in agreement. She looks relieved that at least one person in the group understands why she's concerned. Umi returns to her lunch, but little does she know that Honoka's story isn't over yet.

"I want to adopt it." Honoka balls her hands into fists in front of her chest, but no one is surprised when Umi once again interjects.

"Honoka, no."

"Honoka, yes."

"Honoka…" Kotori's gentle voice cuts through the conversation. "Please no."

Honoka flails her still extended arm, apologizing when the nearest milk carton teeters towards disaster from her bumping into it. "It was super friendly, and it really really _really_ needs a good home. Please guys? I'll take care of it. I'll feed it and walk every day."

Nico interrupts with another sassy comment, "I sure hope you'd feed it every day."

Honoka puffs out her cheeks with a huff, "I just said I would."

Honoka turns on the puppy eyes. These have always worked on Umi, even in the most difficult of times. Puppy eyes were how Honoka convinced both Umi and Kotori to join the band after all.

Umi is spared by someone cutting in, this time it's Nozomi. "I have an idea."

Umi says, "Oh thank goodness," and turns her gaze to the purple haired third year.

Nozomi's considered to be one of the more rational members of the gang, so Honoka's expecting her to say something along the lines of, "That dog probably loves living in the park so you should leave it there," or, "That dog probably has a family already looking for it, so you have to leave it in the park so they can find it there." These are standard adult things that an adult might say, and Honoka does somewhat consider Nozomi an adult. Honoka forgets that sometimes Nozomi likes to mess around too.

"You should take your trumpet to the park and try to train it." Despite the ridiculous idea leaving her lips, Nozomi's face remains serious.

Honoka notices Maki sliding into the opposite end of the table, but the closed off first year doesn't seem like she wants to talk. Honoka's mind is already conjuring up twenty different songs that could be played on the trumpet and serenade a dog, so she leaves Maki alone for the time being. "That's a great idea!"

"That's a horrible idea." Umi's expression is one of disbelief. Honoka's surprised too, it feels nice to have Nozomi backing her up. Umi looks like she has more to say, but Eli clears her throat in order to draw their attention.

"If I may. Now that Maki is here I'd like to schedule our ensemble rehearsal." Eli pulls out her phone as she speaks. "We have less than three weeks until the event, and it's a mystery to me how we still haven't practiced."

It takes Honoka a moment to remember what Eli is talking about. Solo and ensemble is a district wide event. High schoolers can play solos, or they can form small ensembles. The entire school will go up on a Saturday morning, and then they stay overnight in a hotel there and come back the next day. Honoka played in a brass quintet with Eli last year and it was a lot of fun! This year... oh yeah! She's in a trumpet trio with Maki and Eli.

Trumpet trios seem really cool to Honoka. It's all high brass, for one, so she doesn't have to worry about those big tubas dragging down the tempo. They can also stand when they perform, which makes a cool photo op from the side. Needless to say that Honoka is pretty excited.

"Well?" Eli's voice slices through Honoka's inner monologue. "When are you free Honoka?"

"Oh," that's a good question, when is she free? "I'm not sure, hahaha." Honoka leans back and tries to wrack her brain. Can she do tomorrow? No, she has to help out at the store.

Eli decides to give her a moment to think. When she speaks next her voice comes out at a softer volume, so Honoka has to strain her ears in order to hear. "How about you Nozomi? Have you decided on a practice time for your wind quartet?"

Nozomi shakes her head no, "We'll figure it out eventually."

Eli chuckles at the response, "Just going to go with the flow huh?"

Even though they're talking about basically nothing, Honoka almost feels like she's intruding on their conversation, so she turns her attention back to the rest of the group. They've broken off into little conversations, so Honoka figures this is the perfect time to convince Umi about that dog.

Unfortunately the school has other plans. The bell rings, signaling the end of their rather short lunch. Eli tells her and Maki that she'll text them later, and then they all go their separate ways.

* * *

 **Tuesday – 19 days**

Did Nico throw the chairing audition to sit in front of Maki? If you ask Nico in person she will of course say no. If you ask her inside her head, she'll say maybe. Is it that preposterous of an idea? Who cares about chairs anyway, the only difference is 3rd clarinet part versus 1st clarinet part. Frankly, Nico couldn't care less.

That being said, Nico enjoys band class. She gets to listen to Maki's nice playing, and then tease her if she accidentally plays an f sharp when it's supposed to be an f natural. The only thing Nico doesn't like is all the challenging. Maki challenges Honoka every single day. Honoka is good natured about it of course, but it kind of annoys Nico.

Why does she continue to challenge? Does she really want to play first part that badly? For Nico, being in band is about having fun. She wants Maki to have fun too.

Normally, Nico wouldn't say anything. She's known Maki for a couple months now, so they should be good enough friends.

Of course, Nico is having this thought process during band practice. She's played this piece so many times already that she hardly needs to focus. Nico tunes back in anyway, making sure to note when the red head behind her took a breath one measure too early. Not like she really judges Maki for that; she does it too. It won't stop Nico from teasing her about it though.

A few more minutes pass and the bell finally rings. Nico puts her instrument away slowly, listening carefully as Maki does a quick run through of her challenge part. She sounds good. Maki's only problem is that she plays too stiffly, but that's probably because she only plays it as a challenge and never actually in class.

Ms. Aida walks over to the trumpet section to officiate the challenge, and this is Nico's sign to head towards the door. She lingers near the exit of the band room. Maybe Maki will win today.

Maki plays first, followed by Honoka. Fortunately, Maki's in tune this time. It's clear that Honoka's playing the part with more style; the way she presents it is much more musical versus technical. Nico supposes that's just part of Honoka's personality reflecting in her playing.

Ms. Aida shares a few words with them and then the challenge is over. Neither look extremely happy, though Honoka probably just wants to get to lunch. Maki packs up slowly, so Nico reenters the band space to talk with her. Honoka nods a greeting to Nico, then says she'll meet them at lunch and heads out.

The room is completely void of life now, bar Ms. Aida in her office and the two of them. It's perfect for Nico's topic of choice.

"Tough challenge today huh." Nico attempts to ease into the conversation, leaning against the back of Maki's chair as the girl puts her music away. She doesn't seem up for their usual banter.

"What do you want Nico? Are you here to mock me about breathing a measure early?" Maki accompanies her comment with an eye roll. She stands up, nearly brushing into Nico's arms as she passes. The red head turns towards the door and takes a step, as if already dismissing their conversation.

Nico reaches out subconsciously, her slender fingers closing around Maki's left wrist. Before she can even process the warmth of Maki's skin underneath her fingertips, Nico releases her grip as if shocked. Despite not being planned, Maki does turn back towards to Nico to continue their conversation.

Nico pulls her arm back and shakes her head, "No I just…" Nico hesitates, maybe now isn't the best time after all. No, she has to say something now or she never will. "Why do you keep challenging Honoka?"

"Why do I keep challenging Honoka?" Maki repeats the question like it confuses her, then huffs sarcastically. "What do you mean by that?"

"I meant exactly what I asked," Nico keeps her gaze locked on Maki, though the taller girl refuses to make eye contact. "Why do you keep challenging?"

Maki's eyebrows knit together. "I challenge so I can sit second chair. What other reason would there be?" Maki's voice pitches up slightly, an early sign that she's going on the defensive.

Nico shrugs, "Is sitting second chair really worth it?" Maki's eyes slide to hers, and Nico feels a perverse sense of joy at the irritation showing on Maki's face.

"You don't think I can win?" Maki takes a half inch step closer to Nico. Nico opens her mouth to respond, but Maki cuts her off. "That's rich coming from someone like you."

The warmth from the start of their argument fades as the barb hits a little too close to home. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"At least I'm trying. You're so bad you can't even get into the first row of your section." Maki lets out a satisfied hmmph.

If the warmth was fading before, it's completely gone now. Nico's never heard Maki say such things, and if it were anyone else she wouldn't respond. She shouldn't respond even in this instance, but she can't stop herself from snapping back. "Yeah, well at least I don't embarrass myself in front of the entire band every single day."

"Embarrass myself?" Maki's face tints red as she repeats Nico's words again. "I will win, I have no doubt about that. You on the other hand, you couldn't win a challenge to save your life." Maki's close now, with only the few inches in height difference separating herself from Nico.

Normally at this point Nico would cut off contact and skip away with a teasing comment. Today however, she's seething from the pointed insult. No one suggests the great Nico is incapable of doing something and gets away with it. Nico straightens her back and blinks once, ending their unannounced staring contest.

"I bet I can get first chair before you," Nico can tell her voice has dipped down a partial from anger, which only riles Maki up more.

"Oh, and how do you plan on doing that?" Maki crosses her arms and leans back, presumably to make herself look as tall as possible.

Nico scoffs, "I'll challenge of course, and I'll actually win mine."

Maki imitates the scoff, her face twisting halfway into a grimace. "I can't wait to see that, talk about embarrassing yourself in front of the band."

"Oh, you don't think I can win?" Nico pitches her voice up to imitate Maki's, copying what she said a few minutes ago almost word for word.

"Hell no, and I would pay money to see you try." Maki breathes heavily from the exertion of their spat, and normally Nico would feel smug, but right now she's too upset.

Nico laughs darkly and takes a step back to release some of the tension radiating between them. "Well you won't have to pay, you'll just get disappointment when I'm sitting first chair and you're still pathetically sitting third."

Maki uncrosses her arms slowly. Nico can see her hands clenched tightly into fists, and her fingernails must be digging into her palms. "We'll see about that Nico."

On that note, Maki turns and storms out of the room, trumpet in hand.

* * *

Something seems off at lunch today. Hanayo may sit all the way at the end of their table, but it's apparent to her that a few spots are missing. One is right in front of her of course. Rin is present on her right, but Maki usually sits across from her. It makes sense for Maki to be a little late, but Honoka's been at the table for a good ten minutes. She should be here by now.

The other missing person sits a few seats down normally, and that's Nico. Hanayo's best guess is that they're together. She wants to believe that they're having a friendly and nice chat, but knowing her friends it's probably something a little more heated. They could've got stalled practicing a challenging part from their music. Hanayo knows that's happened to her more than a few times.

A phone buzzes gently against the table. Hanayo checks her own, but it's silent for now. She glances down the table and can see Nozomi scanning the contents of what must be a text. Her normally smiling face dips into a frown and she leans forward to say something quietly to Eli. Hanayo looks away, normally she would eavesdrop, but not on her friends.

Her eyes land on her fellow first year Rin, who already has her gaze locked onto Hanayo.

"Kayo-chin, Kayo-chin!" Rin's clearly excited about something and she bangs her hands against the table twice, once with each call of her friend's nickname.

Hanayo smiles at the nickname. She's still not 100% sure where it came from, but Rin likes it and that's what matters. "Sorry, I think I zoned out."

"No worries!" Rin flashes her a quick thumbs up. "As I was saying before, I really do think Algebra is getting harder! At first we just had to solve for x and it was something easy like 2x equals 4. Anyone can figure that out right? Now the teacher's like, _graph these two lines and tell me which points intersect nya_ , and I just can't figure it out?" Rin pushes her lunch to one side and starts digging through her backpack. Hanayo presumes it's to pull out said math problem.

"Of course it gets harder." Despite that, Hanayo takes a look at the problem once Rin has it out. "Did she really say nya?"

Rin giggles, "No I added that part myself. I think it made the story better though."

Hanayo agrees wholeheartedly. She decides to sneak a peek back down the table before starting on the math problem. Nozomi and Eli both look rather worried now, and Nozomi is packing her lunch back into her backpack. Is she leaving?

Yep, she definitely is. The two third years rise from the end of the table. Eli turns towards the group with an apologetic smile. "Sorry to take off on you like this."

Honoka's the most curious of them all, so of course she chimes in, "Where are you going?"

Eli hesitates on the question, but Nozomi comes to her rescue, "Just to the band room. We'll meet up with you guys later."

Not a great answer, but Honoka accepts it. On her right, Rin seems slightly confused. Once Eli and Nozomi are gone her head snaps back around to Hanayo. "What was that all about?"

Hanayo can only shrug, but she decides to give Rin her best guess, "I think it has something to do with Nico and Maki."

Rin glances over her shoulder to catch one last glimpse of Nozomi and Eli as they exit the cafeteria. "Maybe they're fighting again."

Kotori nods in agreement and adds herself into their conversation, "I've never seen them leave during lunch like this."

Rin leans back and rubs the back of her neck. "I hope they're able to work things out."

"I'm sure whatever it is, they can handle it." Hanayo weighs in, though she's not sure she believes her own words.

This statement seems to soothe Rin's concerns. "Yeah! Now, back to this math question."

Hanayo takes a look, but is interrupted once again as Maki finally enters the cafeteria. Hanayo can tell she's seething as she crosses the cafeteria to their table. She's also carrying her trumpet case, which is unusual. Unfortunately for Rin, they probably aren't going to get to this math problem.

Despite the troubled expression painted on Maki's face, Honoka doesn't seem to sense that anything's wrong. She leaps out of her seat when she spots the trumpet case in Maki's right hand. "You brought your trumpet?! You didn't tell me we were starting a flash mob!"

If Eli were asked, she'd suggest that the drama between Nico and Maki is getting a bit too out of control. They're both too hot headed and they let their emotions rule over simple logic. But of course, no one asked her, and now something's happened. Something so bad that apparently, Nico can't come to lunch.

The walk from the cafeteria to the band room is a quick one, so it only takes a few minutes for Nozomi and Eli to locate her in the band room. She's decided to sit in her usual chair within the concert arches and is about halfway through her lunch. Her head is down when the girls enter, and though she probably hears them enter she chooses to stay focused on her food.

Eli hopes Nozomi takes the reigns on this one; she's never been good at comforting others. Much to her relief, her friend gets the conversation rolling.

"Are you okay?" Nozomi sits down in the 6th clarinet chair, her gaze locked onto Nico.

It's a good first question too. Eli probably would've asked something like, "What did you do?" or, "What did you fight about this time?" and both of those questions would've riled Nico up. Nozomi's question is much more empathetic.

Nico just sighs. "I'll be fine, I think?" Nico goes back to nibbling on her lunch. Despite calling them there herself, she doesn't seem like she's ready to talk yet.

Eli thinks Nico must truly be upset. Usually she offers up any new information without being prompted since it brings her immense joy doing so.

Nozomi has more patience than Eli, and she waits quietly while Nico chomps down her celery. Eli glances at the band room clock. They have about ten minutes.

"Nico-chi…" Nozomi places her right hand on Nico's shoulder and the shorter girl stiffens at the contact. "What happened?"

"Oh, so you didn't see Maki on your way here?" Nico turns her head towards Nozomi. "Maybe she didn't go to the cafeteria." Nico massages her temples and slouches forward in her seat.

Eli's not sure where Maki could've gone if not the cafeteria, but with Nozomi staying silent for the moment she decides to chime in, "We did walk past her. She looked distracted, so we didn't stop to talk."

Nozomi nods in concurrence, "She had her trumpet with her too, that was kind of weird, right?"

"Yeah. Maybe we should've gotten it from her to bring." Eli thinks that may have been the smart thing to do. They let her carry it straight into the cafeteria, hopefully she won't get into trouble.

"Wow," Nico interjects, "At least she went to the cafeteria but…" Nico shakes her head in frustration and lets out an annoyed groan, "What the heck's wrong with her."

"What do you mean?" Nozomi prompts her gently. She finally releases Nico's shoulder, her hands returning to sit in her lap.

Nico's expression turns thoughtful. "I'm sure you can tell we fought. All I wanted to do was make sure she wasn't stressing herself too much with challenging. She didn't listen at all though. Then she told me she thinks I'm the worst clarinet player she's ever seen, and that I'll never be able to win a challenge"

Nico falls silent. Is that the whole story? Surely there must be more to it than that. Eli's about to ask, but once again Nozomi beats her to the punch by asking herself. "Did Maki really say that?"

Nico rolls her eyes, "I may have exaggerated slightly."

To Eli, it sounds like she exaggerated a lot. Nozomi ignores the eye roll, opting to ask another question. "And how did you respond?"

Nico's eyes shift to towards the tile floor. "I can't tell you," she mumbles.

Eli thinks it might be a good time to interject. Nozomi must notice that she wants to speak, because she holds up one hand to stop her and accompanies it with a gentle shake of her head.

A few seconds pass, and Eli ends up focusing on the gentle tick of the wall clock. Tick… tick…. tick… Eli's gaze shifts over to Nozomi, but her friend is completely focused on Nico. Sometimes Eli wonders how Nozomi comes up with such helpful advice, when she herself can't come up with a single helpful thing. Even now Nozomi knows to have her wait out the silence. She knows that if they just sit here, Nico will eventually give in. Eli wonders if Nozomi will give her some friendship advice later, so maybe one day she can actually be of some comfort for their friends without having to rely on others for assistance.

Nico finally speaks. "Fine… it was bad," She still won't look up. Her fingers twine together in her lap as she continues speaking, "I told her she's embarrassing herself in front of the band. Then I told her I'd get to first chair before she does. I don't want her to keep wasting time on those stupid challenges." Nico lets out a low chuckle. "Ironically, it backfired."

Eli murmurs an agreement; she agrees that challenges aren't very productive. People changing parts midseason is a huge waste of time and effort. If someone doesn't practice enough for the original chairing audition, then they don't deserve to play for a higher seat. Those are the school's rules though, and who is she to argue against them?

"You definitely hurt her feelings," Nozomi concludes.

"Yeah, well she hurt mine first!" Nico crosses her arms and huffs. "I was just trying to help."

Nozomi nods, "It sounds like you both need to apologize." Eli finds herself nodding along in agreement with this. The sooner they fix their misunderstanding the quicker the group balance can return to normal.

Nico frowns as she shakes her head, "I can't, not yet. We bet on who could get to the top of their section first. I'll apologize once I win.

This sounds a bit extreme to Eli. "Wouldn't winning one challenge be enough to prove things to Maki? Then you'll at least prove her initial statement wrong." To Eli's knowledge, Maki has never been an unreasonable person. Surely the two of them can work things out without it taking weeks of their lives.

Nico's be too stubborn to see that possibility. "I have to win the whole thing." Nico let's out a loose laugh. "I guess I'd better start practicing."

* * *

After a long day at school, Umi's favorite thing to do is go to archery club. It's a great way to burn off some stress, and with how tense Maki seemed at lunch maybe she should be attending too. Today Kotori has come along to chat with her, and of course Umi welcomes the company. Umi joined the archery club back in junior high. She's not very good, but the practice of patience and accuracy helps her to focus, and also gives her a space to reflect on things that are going on in her life.

The archery club is set up behind the school, and the principal even approved for them to build a small archery range, "For the safety of the other students." Most of the members have left for the day, only one older student is practicing still. She's on the opposite end of the range, much to Umi's relief. It can be hard to focus if someone is watching her that actually knows when she makes a mistake.

Umi notches an arrow and draws the string back slowly. Her target is a large bale of hay fifty feet away. Three arrows have already found their mark in a neat triangle, and Umi hopes to land this fourth one in the middle of them. She inhales slowly, focusing on leveling her bow and arrow. Once she thinks it looks good, she exhales and then releases. The arrow zips across the field, landing slightly to the right of her triangle cluster. She sighs at her fourth failure of the afternoon.

Umi's out of arrows now so she makes the quick walk to her hay bale. Kotori watches her go quietly. Umi wonders if she's getting bored from just watching her do the same action repeatedly.

Once she secures her four arrows, Umi heads back. Once she gets back she sets up her bow and arrow for another try.

"I'm worried about Nico and Maki." Kotori decides to make conversation. She expresses her feelings openly, which is something that Umi is grateful for. She isn't too surprised by the statement; Kotori tends to worry about these kinds of things.

Umi sits down on the bench that lines the back of their range, only a few inches from where Kotori is already seated. "They fight a lot."

"They do," Kotori raises one hand to her temples, a classic sign to Umi that she's deep in thought. "Maki just seemed more upset than usual today. Normally when they fight, they make up within a few minutes."

Umi nods, "I suppose it's a bit more serious this time." Umi feels the sudden urge to pat Kotori on the shoulder as a form of comfort, but she hesitates. "They need a few days, but it'll be fine."

"I suppose you're right." Kotori affirms; however, her usual smile is still absent from her face.

Umi doesn't like seeing her friend feeling so down. Kotori is usually pretty optimistic about things; she just needs a bit of a reminder. "Don't you remember when they first met? They argued about who would be first to put their music stand on the rack. Then twenty minutes later, Nico wanted the higher up locker even though she couldn't reach it, just so Maki couldn't have it."

Kotori nods, "That was pretty silly. They really livened up the band though." Kotori smiles softly at the memory.

"They definitely did! And even though they had spats they still became close friends. This is just another one of those things. They'll be over it in no time." Umi's not one hundred percent confident on this, but Kotori seems to believe her this time.

"Thank you." Kotori's not as shy about physical contact as Umi, so she doesn't hesitate to cup Umi's right hand within her own, sending a shiver down the less confident girl's spine. "I feel much better now." She gives the palm one firm squeeze before releasing it, her soft smile finally returning to her face.

"Any time," Umi takes this conversation to be over and stands up to return to her archery practice. Oh wait there was one other thing she wanted to discuss while they were separate from the rest of their friend group. "By the way Kotori, have you thought any more about quitting the band?"

Umi glances over her right shoulder at her friend, but the girl is avoiding eye contact, clearly not wanting to answer that question. "Have you thought any more about confessing to Eli?"

That's something that Umi isn't quite ready to address. Kotori's topic is the same, so they both agree to put off discussing them for now. Instead she returns to archery. She notches an arrow in preparation to shoot. As Umi pulls the string back, she can still feel the ghost of Kotori's hand on hers. She jumps at the memory, causing her fingers to slip and the arrow to fly way off course.

* * *

Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Hi! Thanks for reading chapter 1. This chapter is slightly shorter than the first one. It's basically Nico and Maki behaving like children, then Kotori and Umi also behaving like children.

I put a comment about intonation below so Maki's actions make a little more sense. Thanks!

* * *

A note on trumpets and really all brass instruments. Brass instruments are tuned with tuning slides that can be used in order to adjust the entire instrument. Most tuning happens with your lips, but setting the horn up correctly can help lead you to success when playing. Since horns are made of brass, they often shrink when they are cold and expand when they are warm. When the trumpet is smaller it is typically sharp and when it becomes larger it becomes flat. The tuning slide allows the player to adjust the instrument based on their current needs. It's common for someone to tune multiple times throughout a rehearsal in order to keep themselves in tune.

Also a comment on texting. For the texts below I have the time, then I have the name of the character and the nickname from the other person based on what's inputted in their phone. So for Nozomi her nickname from Nico is Meme Loving Trash. Then for Nico her nickname from Nozomi is My Son. They sometimes updates these nicknames mid conversation so please watch them closely. (Also Rin's nickname from Hanayo is the heart with the less than sign but it gets cuts off why why)

* * *

 **Time: 5:00 PM**

From: Anju (Anju)

To: Hanayo (Hanayo)

 _Hey! Did you guys decide on a time for us to practice for s and e?_

 **Time: 5:01 PM**

From: Hanayo (Hanayo)

To: Anju (Anju)

 _Hello! I'm so sorry I don't know yet! I'll find out right now_

 **Time: 5:01 PM**

From: Hanayo (Rice Lover)

To: Nozomi (Nozomi)

 _Anju wants to know when we're practicing for solo and ensemble. Do you know what time you're free?_

 **Time: 5:10 PM**

From: Nozomi (Meme loving trash)

To: Nico (My Son)

 _Nico! Hey hey hey we need to practice for our thing. Can you do Friday?_

 **Time: 5:15 PM**

From: Rin (Rin 3)

To: Hanayo (Kayo-chin)

 _wanna go to the movies tonight?_

 **Time: 5:16 PM**

From: Rin (Rin 3)

To: Hanayo (Kayo-chin)

 _secret life of pets is out it looks cute as heck nya ^w^_

 **Time: 5:17 PM**

From: Rin (Rin 3)

To: Hanayo (Kayo-chin)

 _it starts at 6:30_

 **Time: 5:20 PM**

From: Nico (My Son)

To: Nozomi (Meme loving trash)

 _Friday's fine_

 **Time: 5:21 PM**

From: Nico (My Son)

To: Nozomi (Meme loving trash)

 _Can I rant for a second?_

 **Time: 5:30 PM**

From: Nico (My Son)

To: Nozomi (Meme loving trash)

 _Im still soooooooooooo mad about maki like with every passing minute i get more and mad like who does she even think she is why can she tell me that I'm the one that sucks at the clarinet when she cant even beat Honoka who never practices like ive never seen her play outside of class even once why cant maki beat her what the fuck i could be first if i challenged i always just sat in front of her to humor her but that's over now the nice nico-ni is gone now im gonna whoop her ass i expect your full support on this_

 **Time: 5:31 PM**

From: Nico (Pipsqueak)

To: Maki (Ass)

 _ass_

 **Time: 5:33 PM**

From: Maki (Ass)

To: Nico (Ass)

 _I know you are, but what am I?_

 **Time: 5:34 PM**

From: Nozomi (Meme loving trash)

To: Nico (My Son)

 _That was a long second_

 **Time: 5:35 PM**

From: Nozomi (Meme loving trash)

To: Nico (My Son)

 _You just texted her didn't you_

 **Time: 5:37 PM**

From: Nozomi (Meme loving trash)

To: Nico: (My Irresponsible Son)

 _Also we will practice Friday after school then. Plz don't be late._

 **Time: 5:37 PM**

From Nico (My Irresponsible Son)

To Nozomi: (Stalker)

 _No! and fine I'll be there_

 **Time: 5:38 PM**

From: Nico (My Irresponsible Son)

To: Nozomi (Stalker)

 _I'm going to make her life hell just you wait_

 **Time: 5:40 PM**

From: Nozomi (Nozomi)

To: Hanayo (Hanayo)

 _We'll practice Friday! Is that alright?_

 **Time: 5:45 PM**

From: Hanayo (Hanayo)

To: Nozomi (Nozomi)

 _Friday is perfect thank you!_

 **Time: 5:46 PM**

From: Hanayo (Hanayo)

To: Anju (Anju)

 _We will practice Friday after school!_

 **Time: 5:50 PM**

From: Hanayo (Kayo-chin)

To: Rin (Rin 3)

 _I'd love to see the movie! I'll meet you there in 10_

 **Time: 6:00 PM PM**

From: Nozomi (Nozomi)

To: Eli (Harasho)

 _Hey! Just wanted to let you know that we are going to practice for s and e on Friday after school._

 **Time: 6:01 PM**

From: Nozomi (Nozomi)

To: Eli (Harasho)

 _I won't be able to walk home with you, sorry!_

* * *

 **Wednesday – 18 days**

"You look tired." Nozomi meets Nico by the lockers before band class. The shorter girl has bags forming under her eyes, which prompts Nozomi's statement. Though the comment is gentle, Nico can tell it stems from concern.

Nico unclasps her clarinet case as she responds. "I was up late." Nico pops open her case and assembles her instrument with ease, then grabs a fresh reed to suck on for class.

Nozomi has her own oboe already set up. She balances her instrument and reed soaker in one hand with her music in the other. She tilts her head and pitches her voice up from curiosity. "Oh? Doing what?"

Nico pointedly spits her reed into her free hand, annoyed when Nozomi giggles lightly at the action. "None of your business." Nico shades her voice with just a bit too much annoyance, which probably makes her looks suspicious. Nozomi always notices these kinds of things.

Nozomi watches her silently for a moment, and Nico thinks she might be let off the hook. "You were texting Maki, weren't you?" A small smirk adorns Nozomi's face.

"No!" There's no saving face now. Nico must accept that Nozomi's beaten her. "Maybe." Nico slides the reed back into her mouth, hopefully this will be enough to dissuade Nozomi from asking any more questions.

Nozomi finally relents, though Nico thinks it's probably because class is going to start soon. She walks away with a knowing grin and cuts through the band chairs to her seat. Nico sits down in the 7th clarinet seat, grateful that Maki isn't in her spot yet. Maybe she called in sick today, or maybe their intense texting spat last night was too much for her.

"Good morning."

Of course. Maki's voice rings out behind Nico, and Honoka replies as chipperly as she always does. So much for that theory. Nico keeps her eyes straight forward. It's too early for a spat with her nemesis. Instead she pulls out a challenge slip that she prepared last night. The girl who sits to her right is named Shun, and though Nico feels a tinge of guilt challenging her, she'll do whatever it takes to best Maki. Shun accepts the note with a polite nod, like she's been expecting it for a long time.

Ms. Aida steps up on the podium in order start class, so Nico focuses in on the music. Nico truly does enjoy band. She likes playing in the woodwind section, and she doesn't mind the lower part. Sitting in front of the trumpets has always had its perks, and she doesn't have to stress over solos.

Class is going smoothly, when Nico notices something shining under her right elbow. She twists her neck and a shiny trumpet bell enters her field of vision. It's clearly Maki's trumpet, and when Nico turns her head she verifies the source of the annoyance. It's kind of weird, but Nico doesn't think too much of it until the horn's extended far enough that both of the teen's slim hands can be seen. The right hand is on top of the valves where it belongs and the other is poised about six inches underneath the mouthpiece along the piece of tubing closest to the player.

Maki's left hand moves towards the end of the horn, and suddenly liquid is leaking out of the horn. The spit drips slowly, forming a pond of sorts on the tile floor next to Nico's feet. A shudder rips up her spine as spit somehow continues to come out of the horn. Then it's empty, and Maki is gone, but Nico's focus is shot. Her eyes lock onto the spit, and even when Ms. Aida directs them to play again she can't muster up the concentration to come in.

Spit is disgusting, absolutely the most horrible worst thing on the planet. Maki emptying her spit next to Nico's shoes is the equivalent of Maki spitting next to Nico herself. Nico clenches her fingers around the clarinet keys. She was going to avoid starting up, but clearly Maki wants to go.

How can she get back at her though? It's not like the clarinet has a spit valve that can be conveniently emptied to annoy others. She could turn and smack Maki with her clarinet, but that might hurt the clarinet.

"Excuse me," The subject of Nico's thoughts suddenly speaks, cutting through her inner monologue. "May I please go to the restroom."

Ms. Aida gives Maki the okay, so the first year exits quietly, leaving her trumpet sitting on her chair. Nico glances over her shoulder at the abandoned instrument, silently thanking her lucky stars that Maki's given her this opportunity. The group starts playing again, but once they stop Nico reaches back and snags the trumpet, ignoring Honoka and Tsubasa's inquires as to what she's up to. Fortunately, Eli doesn't notice, or else her whole plan might be ruined.

Nico places her own instrument on the ground to her left, making sure to put it as far from her new spit puddle as possible. She examines the trumpet carefully, looking for any point of sabotage. The three valve caps sparkle from the special pink caps Maki uses for them, and Nico knows exactly what she's going to do.

Each valve is secured by a twistable lid. They cover the top part of the valve and hold the pistons in place. Nico isn't going to break the instrument; that might be a step to far. Instead, she unscrews each of the three valves. She pulls all three out, then places the first in the second slot, the second in the third slot, and the third one in the last slot. She spins the lids back into place, and quickly rotates each valve until they click. The click means they're locked into their positioning for that valve, however being locked into the wrong slot will most likely render the horn unplayable.

That's what Nico is hoping for anyway, though she's not 100% sure. Trumpets are somewhat a mystery to her, so it may be playable with the valves in any order.

Nico attempts to place the trumpet back exactly as it was, though she's sure Maki wouldn't notice either way. She turns back to the front and scoops up her clarinet. Now it's only a matter of time.

A couple minutes later Maki returns from the bathroom. She takes her seat and clicks the valves on her trumpet a few times. They sound just fine to Nico, and Maki also doesn't notice that they're slightly different from before.

Ms. Aida brings her baton up for them to play, and Nico strains her hearing backwards as Maki inhales sharply. The rest of the band starts playing, and much to Nico's joy she hears absolutely nothing coming from the redhead directly behind her. Despite facing forwards, Nico can feel Maki's icy stare drilling into her back. The girl assumedly brings her trumpet down, and Nico can hear the telltale signs of metal clinking as she loosens the valves to take a look.

Nico's sure she hears Maki curse her out, but it could just be her imagination. After a few more moments Maki raises her trumpet to her lips and her warm tone rejoins the band. It's not like Nico is giving Maki a complement for sounding nice, because she isn't.

Nico's unsure if her plan was effective enough. Maki did swear, but she doesn't seem very angry. There weren't any other options though, other than ones that would have extremely negative consequences if Nico were to go through with them.

Nico returns to playing her clarinet and actually paying attention in class, which she really should've been doing this whole time. After a few reps, she starts to notice that Maki's playing sounds a bit different from normal, and not different in a good way.

Is she flat? Nico fights the urge to turn her head and check on her underclassmen. They play again, and this confirms it, she's definitely flat. The flat note bounces grossly off Tsubasa, who's playing the same exact note.

Another rep, and Nico winces when the notes somehow dip even farther flat. Maki also seems to be leaning towards Nico, making it so most people probably can't identify who's out of tune, but Nico gets a front seat.

She must be doing this on purpose. Nico has mixed feelings about this, since clearly the valve switching irritated her, but she'd also rather listen to nails on chalkboard then have to deal with the sound dissonance ringing through her ears.

Fortunately for Nico, a few people seem to have caught on. Despite usually being quite oblivious, Honoka comes to her rescue. "Um, Maki. Aren't you a bit flat?"

"She's extremely flat." The retort comes from a new source, as Tsubasa seems more annoyed than even Nico herself. "Push your tuning slide in."

Maki mutters an insincere apology, and Nico is guessing she makes the appropriate change to her instrument. Nico wants to turn and thank Honoka and Tsubasa for helping her out, but she knows that if she does then Maki will know how much it bothered her.

Maki sounds perfectly in tune the next time they play, and it remains that way for the remainder of class. Nico can't think of any other ways to mess with her during class, but she does come up with a pretty good idea for once class ends.

Nico only needs wait fifteen more minutes for her opportunity. The bell rings, and everyone starts packing up and heading to lunch. Shun starts playing through her challenge section a couple times, and behind her Honoka and Maki do the same.

Nico moves her right hand to the top of her clarinet, twisting and cleanly removing the mouth piece from the remainder of the instrument. Nico turns so she's sitting in her chair sideways, and she makes eye contact with Maki for the first time that day. She secures the mouthpiece between her lips, then buzzes the highest pitch sound she can muster. The sound comes out probably as a high B or C, but it's definitely sharp, and multiple people look over from where they're packing up their stuff.

Nico holds the note for a few seconds, feeling like the finally has the upper hand as Maki stops playing to gape at her. Nico releases the note and then does her best bird impression, squeaking out a few short squawks.

She only holds Maki's attention for a moment, then the red head shifts her eyes back towards her music. She seems insistent on getting in a couple of reps before the challenge.

Honoka also glances over, but she seems a bit more interested. She plucks her own mouthpiece out of her trumpet and responds with a few bird calls of her own. She snaps, points with a finger gun, and wiggles her eyebrows. After a moment she seems to realize she also needs to practice for her challenge, so she secures her mouthpiece in the trumpet and goes back to warming up.

Nico does what she does best and continues to squeak. She attempts a full scale, but high to high doesn't work that well. By now most of the students have filtered out of the room, and even if they were planning on lingering behind Nico's mouthpiece playing has deterred them. She notices their teacher wrapping up with a student a few chairs over, so she decides her annoyance mission is a success and quickly rebuilds her clarinet.

Ms. Aida walks over to them, and though she looks concerned she doesn't comment on their strange behavior. She starts with Nico and Shun, probably because they're closer to where she's standing.

As the challenger, Nico plays first. The section they have to play is a few connect sixteenth notes, followed by some slurs. It's not a difficult part by any means, and Nico performs it with ease. She hopes Maki is listening, but she knows the other girl wouldn't admit it even if she ways.

Shun performs second, and she plays it fine, but Nico truly can play melodically when she puts in the effort. Nico claims her victory gracefully, and Shun isn't too upset. Nico stands up and goes to her locker to put her instrument away, but she does keep one ear on the trumpet challenge.

They play the same passage as always, and it sounds the same as always. Maki loses, and Nico wants to make a comment soooo badly. The younger girl doesn't give her the opportunity, she packs up and puts her trumpet away in less than sixty seconds. Nico watches her go, feeling a mix of happiness at her victory, but also frustration that she's going to have at least five more challenges. Lunch is already a few minutes in now and she needs to get going or she won't have enough time to eat. Nico deconstructs her clarinet and seals it back in its case. She slides it into her locker and heads out.

* * *

Honoka's late to lunch. Not like this is anything new, but it doesn't stop her stomach from grumbling and churning as she crosses the cafeteria. Honoka has her lunch bag already out of her backpack. Today she brought two different kinds of bread to go with her meal.

Honoka's pace slows as she approaches her usual table. Her spot, which is dead center, already has someone sitting in it. This person has blonde hair but it isn't pulled up in a ponytail, is it Eli? That's exciting if she finally decided to let her hair down.

One seat is open on the right side, so Honoka decides to go with the flow and plops down with a sigh. "You guuuuuuuys, I went to the park last night again but the dog was gone. Maybe it's…" Honoka looks around at the 8 unfamiliar faces that are all focused on her. "Oh, hehehe." Honoka pops up like a rocket. These are definitely not her friends.

Honoka imagines she's turning on submarine mode as she starts turning slowly to her right. She beeps as she goes, passing over the stream of miscellaneous students. She beeps again and the first person she sees is Tsubasa. Tsubasa is really great! Honoka has a whole list of reasons, but she supposes they should wait until after she locates her friends. A few more beeps and she spots her fellow second year's silver hair knot sticking out over the group. Kotori seems to be looking for her as well, so Honoka waves to get her attention.

Kotori is sitting with Maki, Rin, and Hanayo, which makes their table look pretty empty. Honoka wonders where the second half of her friends are, but she doesn't need to ponder on it for long as she can faintly hear someone calling her name from the opposite side of the room.

Honoka turns to see Umi waving and shouting. She must want Honoka to come sit with them. Honoka feels relieved when she recognizes the remainder of their group sitting with her.

Is relief really the correct emotion right now though? Honoka swivels back over to Kotori's side, and then back again to Umi's. The first and third years are sitting separately, and the second years have to pick a side? Does this mean Umi and Kotori picked opposite sides? Are they not friends anymore?

Umi stops shouting. She must realize that she's asking Honoka for the impossible. How can she choose between her friends? Everyone is so near and dear to her heart. Honoka subconsciously starts weighing the pros and cons of each group.

The first years are super cute. They always go along with Honoka's plans no matter how crazy her idea may sound. They also do fun things with her after school and on the weekends. They'll be around for longer too, since the third years will graduate at the end of the year.

The third years have their own charms though. They're so smart and always help Honoka if she needs some assistance with her homework. They're also the first ones to revise and fix her crazy plans when she suggests them. Think of all the limbs that Honoka would've broken without them being around to stop her!

Not to mention that choosing a side means abandoning one of her childhood friends, and Nico and Maki could fight forever! Then twenty years from now they'll have a class reunion and they'll still be fighting and she won't be able to talk to half of her friends!

Honoka's head spins as confusion finally sets in. She can't decide this is way too difficult for someone like her. Leaders have to make tough decisions! Honoka's eyes focus in on the table that she's currently standing at. This is _their_ table after all. Yeah! Taking the firm middle stance can never be seen as a bad thing.

Honoka sits back down in the seat she was just settled in, and she takes in the faces of her new friends. "Hi! I'm Honoka. I like bread and the trumpet!" Honoka introduces herself with a bright smile, but in her head, she's already forming a great plan (probably not) for how she's going to fix this mess.

* * *

Kotori's not exactly sure what's going on, but she receives a text from Honoka before their last class period saying she's calling an emergency second year meeting. The text says to meet in their usual spot, which for them is the school's auditorium. Kotori makes her way there after class, and she enters through the audience doors.

"The usual spot" for them consists of the last three seats in the back-right corner of the audience. Why those seats? Well, Honoka decided on them, and who were they to refuse her silly request? So whenever Honoka calls a meeting, they sit in the back of the auditorium. No one ever disturbs them as long as it isn't play season.

Kotori turns to her right and walks behind the back row of seats. Normally she would be wondering what Honoka wants to discuss, but today it's clear what's weighing on her mind. It's been bothering all of them since lunch the previous day, and Kotori is guessing that being separated during Honoka's favorite time of the school day bothered her quite a bit.

Honoka and Umi are already in their seats. Umi is sitting in three from the right and Honoka is seated on the end. Kotori greets them warmly and slides past Honoka's knees to get to her spot. They haven't met like this since right before chairing auditions about a month prior, so it feels very nostalgic.

Honoka starts with a joke, "You're probably wondering why I called you all here today."

Umi doesn't laugh. "We know why." Umi seems a little more anxious than usual. It's not like she ever really humors Honoka's jokes though.

Honoka pouts towards her two friends, and Kotori wonders when she'll grow out of the silly expression "Anyway! I want to talk about Nico and Maki!"

Kotori nods, the two of them are the hot group topic right now. "I'm sure we're all worried about them."

Umi agrees with her, but the response comes out kind of distant. Kotori glances over at her friend and notices she's looking away from them and towards the stage. Umi often glances away when she thinks no one's watching. Kotori's always found the trait quite endearing. The blue haired teen looks over after a moment, embarrassed that she was caught not paying attention. Umi clears her throat, "I'm assuming you have a plan Honoka?"

This is clearly what Honoka was waiting for. "You bet I do! Okay so here's what I've come up with. Obviously Nico and Maki fight a lot, so all we need to do is get them to agree on something! If we can do that then surely they can handle the rest on their own. So Halloween is coming up soon, and my idea is that we have a Halloween party and invite them both to it. So they show up and that's fine, and then once the party gets going we lock them in a room together and force them to talk things through!"

"Honoka…" Kotori hates to interrupt when Honoka goes on one of her excited idea sharing rants, but she sees a major problem with this plan. "While I could make a some adorable matching costumes for them, Halloween isn't for a month. Don't you think we should try to help the make up before then?"

Honoka's grin falls slightly, "Oh yeah…" She raises one hand to scratch her chin thoughtfully. "What if we locked them in a room together after school one day instead? Then we can do it as early as tomorrow."

Honoka looks so determined, but Kotori isn't sure this is the right way to go. Nico and Maki being alone together is what usually starts their fighting, and typically a mediator such as Nozomi or Hanayo have to step in and soothe things over for them to make up.

"What if… I make them matching hats." Kotori reaches into her polo shirt pocket as she makes her suggestion. Inside she has a crumpled up napkin with two hats sketched onto it.

Umi seems skeptical, "How will that help?" She reaches across Honoka, silently asking if she can look at the designs.

Kotori passes them over, shrugging as Umi takes a look at them. "I'm not sure, but maybe it will help them start talking about things other than band."

"These are cute, but I'm still not sure." Umi passes the napkin to Honoka so she can also weigh in.

"I think this is a great plan too! I think we should combine the plans. Step one, put the matching hats on their heads. Step two, shove them into the room together!"

Kotori considers sharing her additional thoughts with Honoka, but gets sidetracked when she feels a familiar nudge in her left side.

Umi leans into her left shoulder, her chest and stomach brushing lightly against Kotori's side. Her voice comes out just above a whisper, though there's only Honoka to overhear them. "This conversation isn't going anywhere. Don't you think… you should tell Honoka about what we talked about the other day."

If Kotori ever had a moment where she regretted telling Umi things, it was certainly this moment. She's sure that Umi is just concerned for her, and that worry drives her actions. She probably assumes that mentioning this in front of Honoka will pique the over curious girl's interest.

Sure enough, Honoka's head tilts to one side similarly to a puppy's. "What thing you talked about the other day?" Honoka leans in as far as someone can with the restrictive arm rests that line the auditorium seats. "You can tell me." Honoka's toothy grin splits across her face.

Kotori glances back over at Umi, who is waiting patiently for the girl sandwiched in the middle to speak. She feels trapped, both literally and figuratively. "It's nothing…"

Honoka doesn't seem convinced and Umi sighs next to her. "I'll just tell her then." Umi leans forward so she can easily speak around her friend. "Kotori is thinking about quitting band." A sense of dread washes over Kotori. She laughs nervously to cover up how she's feeling, but the laugh dies out after a moment when Honoka remains completely silent.

Honoka blinks once, and then again. Kotori can almost see the gears turning, just a few more ticks and she'll explode. "What?!" There it is. Honoka leaves her seat in an instant, one hand latching onto Kotori's right shoulder. "Why? You can't quit!"

Kotori sinks slowly into her seat. Why does this have to happen today? She's still undecided about band, and now Honoka's not going to let it go until she gives her a firm answer, unless… "Umi is thinking about confessing to Eli."

"WHAT?" Honoka hardly needs time to process this time, though she can't quite reach Umi the way they are positioned. "Eli? As in our Eli?" Honoka falls silent for a moment, her expression turning thoughtful. "You do stare at her a lot."

Umi jumps to her feet as well, leaving Kotori as the only sitting member. "That's not! I mean…" Red spreads across Umi's cheeks. Honoka waits with unusual patience for her, but maybe she's just learned after all this time that Umi needs a few seconds to gather herself. Said blue haired girl turns her gaze back towards the stage, then after a painfully long second looks back at them. "Fine… yes okay? I do like her." Her head tilts down, causing her hair to fall forward and hide her face.

The smile that breaks out on Honoka's face in contagious, and Kotori finds herself smiling despite the stressful situation. Umi's crush isn't new information for her, but she's happy to finally share if with the third and very important part of their friendship triangle.

Honoka seems a bit more surprised than Kotori was expecting. She wonders why it's such a big shock, though Honoka's never been the most observant member of their group. Honoka practically clambers over Kotori's lap so she can place one hand on top of Umi's head. "We can help you too!"

Umi's head snaps back up, and Honoka withdraws her hand at the sudden movement. "No."

"No?" Honoka leans back into her own seat, and Kotori can sense the renewal up the puppy dog pout, "But my plans are so great! You and Eli would be skipping off into the sunset in no time."

While Kotori thinks that Umi would love for that to be true, she can tell her blue haired friend is a bit skeptical. Umi doesn't look like she's going to be able to vocalize her thoughts, so Kotori decides to give it a try. "Honoka, I don't think Umi wants to make a big deal out of it."

"That's right!" Umi nods fervently, "Thank you. Not to mention that I'm not even ready to confess yet. I want to make 100% sure of my feelings before I do. And Eli… Well…" Uncertainty seeps into her voice as it trails off. "I'm sure she doesn't reciprocate.

Honoka can't agree or disagree, since she never pays enough attention to know. Kotori stays silent, because she knows that responding with the truth will only break her friend's heart.

Honoka bobs her head slowly, and she actually looks like she understands the situation for once. "I think I get it." Honoka once again leans into Kotori's space, this time to grab Umi's left hand with her right. She also sneaks down Kotori's right side so she can snugly hold hands with both of them. "I'll support you in any way that I can!" The admission comes out probably louder and brighter than Honoka's intending, but it warms Kotori's heart. Honoka has always been there for them, and she's glad that they can continue being friends into the future.

Umi squeezes Honoka's hand lightly. "The first thing you can do is keep this a secret."

"Ehhh, I'm horrible at secrets." Honoka laughs nervously and attempts to draw her hand back, but Umi clamps down on it, using her second hand to trap Honoka in place. Honoka wobbles from where's she precariously balanced, and for a moment Kotori thinks she may fall on top of her. Her free hand lands on Kotori's shoulder, able to finally find her balance.

Umi's expression is grim, "I can't have Eli finding out about this before I get the chance to tell her. Please?"

Kotori's knows the hand crushing that Umi can administer is not a good feeling, but Honoka takes it like a champ and nods her head. "I'll do my best."

* * *

Thanks for reading! Next time: Nico acts like a stalker.


	3. Chapter 3

Hello! This chapter is the longest one I've posted so far. I feel like some of this fic is padding to reach 50,000 words, so I want to apologize if at any point you feel something doesn't add to your experience.

Also, Nico acts like a creep here I know it's creepy to spy on someone. She just has some things to work out, okay?

* * *

 **Thursday – 17 days**

Nico doesn't usually take her clarinet home to practice, but considering this challenging fiasco she decides to take the extra step. It's not like she's worried about losing, she just wants to make sure she doesn't embarrass herself in front of Maki. Surely the red head will stay to watch her play every day, especially since she'll have her own challenge right after.

Because of this, Nico took her clarinet home to practice last night and now she needs to return it to her locker before school starts. The band, orchestra, and choir rooms are split off from the rest of the school. This is probably because of the loud sounds they tend to produce, but it makes a nice fine arts wing for the students to utilize. They also have extra rooms lining the hallway the classrooms are in. The rooms are small, but they're prefect for practicing either alone or with a small group. They all have little windows on the doors, so Nico decides to peep into each room. Not to spot any person in particular of course, just to see if any losers are around.

They seem to be mostly empty this morning. The third room down has a violinist tuning inside. They're facing the door so they raise their bow to wave as Nico walks by. She waves back, but keeps going. There are six practice rooms in total, and the very last one is next to the band room entrance.

As Nico approaches, she can hear a faint brass tone echoing down the hall. Her heart pounds a couple beats faster as she recognizes the sound as a trumpet player. Could she really be playing this morning, just as Nico predicted?

Nico finally reaches the window and steps to the side. If the trumpet player is facing towards the door, then she'll get caught right away. Is it worth the risk?

It definitely is, Nico peeks in the corner of the window. She feels proud when she immediately spots a red blob of hair. Maki's facing away from the door, but Nico can see her music stand slightly to her right. She's currently just warming up by blowing some long tones, but she still has about 20 minutes before she needs to get to class.

Hah, Nico wants to gloat to Maki for accurately predicting her presence, but doing so would reveal her own pathetic spying to the first year.

Nico decides she shouldn't continue staring at her. Some people, aka Nozomi the stalker, might call it creepy. Not like Nozomi isn't a creep herself. She slips into the band room quietly. The room is empty for once and it only takes a moment for Nico to reach her locker. She spins the circle lock around smoothly. Right to 13, left to 29, and then right back to 9. The lock clicks open with a satisfying clunk. Once open she slides her clarinet inside and re-secures her lock in place.

Her brain tells her to walk straight past Maki's practice room, but her heart wants her to stay and listen. Nico's never been much for logic, so she ends up back in her original hiding spot. Maki's moved on from warming up at this point. She's fiddling with an electronic metronome, setting it to 4/4 time at 100 beats per minute.

Maki steps back from her stand and raises her trumpet. She plays her challenge segment slowly and carefully. Her tone sounds warm, and the tempo seems perfect. Nico shuts her eyes and allows herself to get absorbed by the music.

The music suddenly cuts out, and Nico realizes it's because Maki's finished the challenge segment. Nico keeps her eyes pressed shut, but she can hear Maki click the tempo on her metronome up to 120. This is much closer to the actual tempo she'll need to play the segment. Maki resumes playing, her tone taking an apparent hit at the increased speed.

Maki stops, and then starts again from the beginning. Nico finds herself opening her eyes in order to watch Maki practice. The red head seems frustrated as she starts over for a third time. After playing through the part again Maki clicks the metronome back down to 100, then plays again.

For what must be the fourth or fifth time that week, Nico feels some regret over her fight with Maki. The two of them argue often, but they usually make up after a few hours. It's been only a handful of days, but Nico wishes she could skip into the practice room in order to tease her friend. The two of them would share a joke and Nico would tell Maki not to work too hard, then they'd go to class together.

She can't do that the way things are right now, so Nico ends up turning away with a tinge of regret. Not like she ever regrets her actions or anything like that. She should probably get to class.

* * *

Maki's not pleased with her morning practice. The metronome taunted her all morning, and she ended up putting her trumpet away feeling unsatisfied. The part sounded fine at 100 beats per minute, but as soon as she clicked it up to 120 or even only 110 it sounded too choppy. Honoka's easy going playing will need something equally beautiful to beat it. She needs to play the part a few hundred more times.

She heads down the hallway towards her first class now, her head still full of music notes, crescendos, and marcatos. If she keeps playing, keeps practicing, then one day she'll be able to play her challenge perfectly. Then she can beat Honoka, and hopefully Eli soon after. She'll show Nico, even if it's the last thing she does!

Maki's eyes are trained on the ground, and she almost stumbles when her arm suddenly brushes against someone's backpack. She turns to mumble an apology, but freezes when she recognizes two familiar pigtails. Her apology dies in her throat, replaced with a rush of anger. "Watch where you're going."

Nico spins on her heels, and Maki thinks she catches her expression flick from something unreadable to harsh anger. "Why don't you?" Nico's fists clench into tight balls.

Maki crosses her arms, doing her best to loom over her ex-friend. "Maybe if you weren't so short I'd actually be able to see you." She grins smugly when Nico fumes at the retort.

Nico's hand is suddenly bunched against the collar of Maki's shirt, and she tugs to bring Maki down to her level. Maki bends her knees in compliance, surprised at how close Nico's face suddenly seems.

She finds her eyes locked onto Nico's dark ones. In this setting they're filled with rage, and Maki feels something indescribable pulse through her. After a second Nico blinks and opens her mouth to speak. "Shut up, at least I don't stand out like a stop sign." Nico seems equally smug with her response, and Maki subconsciously reaches up to twirl one finger through her hair, but her hand is cut off by Nico grasp on her shirt. Their fingers bump briefly, and an electric shock shoots down Maki's fingers as if she were shocked. Nico also jumps slightly from the contact.

"At least if someone was about to walk into me, they would stop." The comment finds its mark.

Nico hesitates, and Maki feels like she's won this round. Nico's mouth drop open, but she clicks it shut as if she decided she could think of something better.

Suddenly a hand lands on Nico's arm, and the shorter girl drops Maki's shirt in surprise. A mess of blonde hair fluffs into Maki's face as someone steps between them. She reels backward, unsurprised to find that Eli has interrupted their banter. She seems more annoyed than usual, if her tense shoulders and clenched eyebrows are any indicator. "That's enough." Her voice comes out low and stern. "You are in the hallway, in case you've forgotten."

Maki glances around, noticing for the first time that many of her classmates have stopped to gawk at the arguing pair.

Maki can't see Nico anymore around Eli, but she does hear her mutter some form of an apology. She decides she should apologize as well. It's not every day that she sees her usually calm upper classman so angry. "Sorry Eli."

Eli's expression softens. "It's fine." Her head turns back towards Nico and the two of them exchange a couple sentences that Maki can't quite make out. She attempts to make out a few words but it just sounds like Eli is scolding her for causing a scene.

The bell rings overhead, signaling that they need to make their way towards their first class of the day. Maki walks away with her shoulders hunched forward. This isn't exactly how she expected to spend her last few free minutes of the morning.

Arguing with Nico always fills her with a rush in the moment, but as she walks to class all she feels now is disappointed. She didn't have to snap; it wasn't even Nico's fault that they made contact. She could've apologized. She should've apologized.

She curses her own stupidity, all thoughts of music now replaced with ones of Nico.

* * *

Maki's first class goes by in a blur, and soon she finds herself back at band practice. Nico's moved up a seat from her challenge win yesterday, which ruins any opportunity for messing with her. She supposes she could play out of tune again, but that seemed to bother her own trumpet members more than it bothered Nico. Shun's directly in front of her now. The second year is quiet and polite, much different from the previous occupant of the chair.

Maki glances to the right, disappointed that there are still two seats ahead of her. Granted, it's only been one day, but with Nico already 14% of the way to the finish line Maki wants to make some progress.

Class passes quickly, and before Maki knows it she's warming up for her daily challenge with Honoka. Despite needing to focus on practice, Maki's thoughts hone in on Nico. She's on a perfect angle for spying now, and she's working on the second clarinet challenge part. It's a bit trickier than her previous challenge part, since that was on third. Maki thinks she sounds good, but she keeps that thought to herself. There's no reason for Nico to feel any cockier after their spat that morning.

Her attention shifts to her own music, but as she raises her trumpet she's startled by a hand landing on her shoulder. Eli has once again infringed upon her personal space. She leans down slightly to better speak to her seated underclassmen. Maki notices her other hand is similarly latched to Honoka. "When are we going to practice for solo and ensemble?" She sounds irritated. Maki can't really blame her; they only have two weeks now until the actual event. Normally she'd be more on top of things, but with exams and the whole challenging thing it completely slipped her mind.

Maki shrugs, but the nonchalant response only sends an additional wave of irritation her way. She looks over at Honoka, who also shrugs. "I dunno…"

Honoka squeezes her eyes shut for a moment, something she only does when she's thinking about something really hard. Well for her it's really hard, but for the rest of them it's just thinking about something a normal amount. Her eyes pop back open, and Maki figures she must have had some kind of revelation. "Our friends are practicing Friday right? Let's just practice then!"

The answer seems obvious once Honoka's thrown it out there, and Maki wonders why Eli didn't think of it herself. The trumpet leader nods once. "That seems fine. Are you free then Maki?"

"Yup." Not like there's a time where Maki isn't free. She doesn't have enough of a life for that.

Eli releases her death grip on their shoulders and seems satisfied that they have at least one conflict resolved. "Great! I'll make sure to get us a practice room so just come here Friday after school." Eli turns and leaves them to go to lunch.

That's right, they still need to have their challenge. Maki checks on the clarinets in front of her. They're both already packing up, did she completely miss the challenge? She wants to know who won. If she could see Nico's expression she'd be able to tell based on the level of smugness on her face, but as is she can only see her black pigtails as she finishes packing up her clarinet. The girl she challenged is looking in the wrong direction as well.

Maki wants to ask, but she knows she can't. If she asks who won then she's basically admitting to Nico that she's desperate for information. Maki wants to show Nico that she's confident and composed, not that she's lame and more worried about other people's challenges than their own.

Ms. Aida has one other challenge in the trombones before she'll get to the trumpets, so Maki can only watch as Nico gets up and goes over to her locker. Now she'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out if Nico won.

Unless… Maki glances around the room and luckily for her she spots the person she's looking for. The blonde was just speaking with them after all; it would have been pretty impressive if she'd snuck out of the band room in less than a minute. Eli's locker is on the opposite side of the room from Nico's, which is perfect.

Maki slides out of her seat in what she hopes is a stealth like manner. Probably she just looks dumb, but oh well. She hangs on to her trumpet since it will be too noisy to try and put down. She skitters over to Eli who is putting her lock back onto the locker. She must not be that sneaky, because Eli greets her when she's only a couple feet away. "Hey."

"Hi." Maki glances over her shoulder. Nico is still preoccupied with her own locker, good. "I need a favor."

Eli narrows her eyes suspiciously. Maki's sure that her shifty behavior must seem weird, but she's not sure she has the patience to wait a whole day. After a moment Eli sighs, "What is it?"

"Will you ask Nico if she won her challenge?" Maki attempts to push a half grin onto her face, if it works for Honoka maybe it can work for her too.

Maki thinks the request is reasonable, but now Eli seems confused. She raises her right eyebrow in disbelief. "Is that it?"

Maki can feel the judgement behind her question. "Yes… I can't ask her myself." Maki spares another glance over her shoulder. "Ah, she's about to leave, please?"

Eli still seems hesitant. Her head starts to shake no, but she opens her mouth a few seconds later. "Fine."

"Thank you!" Maki's voice comes out a bit louder than she wanted, and she can feel her face heat up when Eli displays a splash of amusement.

Ms. Aida has finished with the trombones by this point, so Maki quickly returns to her seat. She completely forgot to warm up, not to mention her head is swamped with wondering how Nico's challenge went.

That being said, she still plays well, though she does rush in a few places. Honoka plays as great as always, so Maki is still stuck with third. She also finds out a few minutes later that Nico did win her challenge, putting her in 5th. Two more wins and she'll move up into the first row. How great.

* * *

 **Time: 4:15 PM**

From: Honoka (Idiot)

To: Umi (Bestest Friend Pt 1)

 _hey!_

 **Time: 4:16 PM**

From: Umi (Bestest Friend Pt 1)

To: Honoka (Idiot)

 _Hi_

 **Time: 4:17 PM**

From: Honoka (Idiot)

To: Umi (Bestest Friend Pt 1)

 _ok… so yesterday you said something and i cant remember if i heard it right_

 **Time: 4:18 PM**

From Honoka (Idiot)

To: Umi (Bestest Friend Pt 1)

 _is kotori quitting band?_

 **Time: 4:23 PM**

From: Umi (Bestest Friend Pt 1)

To: Honoka (Idiot)

 _I'm not sure I'm the best person to be telling you about this._

 **Time: 4:24 PM**

From: Honoka (Idiot)

To: Umi (Meanie Secret Keeper)

 _D - :_

 **Time: 4:46 PM**

From: Umi (Meanie Secret Keeper)

To: Honoka (Idiot)

 _Why do you put noses in your emoticons anyway?_

 **Time: 4:48 PM**

From: Honoka (Idiot)

To: Umi (Meanie Secret Keeper)

 _it needs a nose! its a face! duh_

 **Time: 4:49 PM**

From: Honoka (Idiot)

To: Umi (Meanie Secret Keeper)

 _wait I know what youre doingggg_

 **Time: 4:49 PM**

From: Honoka (Idiot)

To: Umi (Meanie Secret Keeper)

 _youre trying to distract me_

 **Time: 4:52 PM**

From: Honoka (Idiot)

To: Umi (Meanie Secret Keeper)

 _well it wont work! come on umi i was there when she told us about wanting to leave_

 **Time: 4:53 PM**

From: Honoka (Idiot)

To: Umi (Meanie Secret Keeper)

 _i just want to help_

 **Time: 5:00 PM**

From: Umi (Meanie Secret Keeper)

To: Honoka (Idiot)

 _Fine_

 **Time: 5:10 PM**

From: Umi (Bestest Friend Pt 1)

To: Honoka (Idiot)

 _Look, it has nothing to do with you or even me. Kotori's been in the band for just as long as us. You sit second chair and I just enjoy participating, but for Kotori I think she wishes she were better. She thinks she's dragging down the band and just wasting everyone's time._

 **Time: 5:12 PM**

From: Honoka (Idiot)

To: Umi (Bestest Friend Pt 1)

 _but shes not dragging down the band at all? like no one thinks that_

 **Time: 5:15 PM**

From: Umi (Bestest Friend Pt 1)

To: Honoka (Idiot)

 _I completely agree. I also think that Kotori is quite good at the flute, she just struggles with one on one auditions and anything that seems like a solo._

 **Time: 5:18 PM**

From: Honoka (Idiot)

To: Umi (Bestest Friend Pt 1)

 _we need to convince her that theres more to band than chairing and solos!_

 **Time: 5:19 PM**

From: Honoka (Idiot)

To: Umi (Bestest Friend Pt 1)

 _but how? : - /_

 **Time: 5:23 PM**

From: Umi (Bestest Friend Pt 1)

To: Honoka (Idiot)

 _I'm not sure. I think we just need to show her the better sides of band._

 **Time: 5:44 PM**

From: Honoka (Idiot)

To: Umi (Bestest Friend Pt 1)

 _oooh like s and e!_

 **Time: 5:45 PM**

From: Umi (Bestest Friend Pt 1)

To: Honoka (Idiot)

 _Considering her fear of solos, I'm not sure she'd agree with you on this one._

 **Time: 5:47 PM**

From: Honoka (Idiot)

To: Umi (Bestest Friend Pt 1)

 _ohhhh shoot ur probably right. there are other fun things too like pit orchestra and sectionals._

 **Time: 5:47 PM**

From: Umi (Bestest Friend Pt 1)

To: Honoka (Idiot)

 _Not a bad idea for once._

 **Time: 5:48 PM**

From: Honoka (Idiot)

To: Umi (Bestest Friend Pt 1)

 _I have good ideas sometimes!_

 **Time: 5:49 PM**

From: Umi (Bestest Friend Pt 1)

To: Honoka (Idiot)

 _Anyway, I'll keep thinking on this._

* * *

 **Time: 6:00 PM**

From: Eli (Harasho)

To: Nozomi (Nozomi)

 _Hey! Just wanted to let you know that we're practicing our trumpet trio on Friday now too, so we can still walk home together._

 **Time: 6:01 PM**

From: Eli (Harasho)

To: Nozomi (Nozomi)

 _If you want_

 **Time: 6:04 PM**

From: Nozomi (Nozomi)

To: Eli (Huge Nerd)

 _Of course I do! You're such a nerd._

 **Time: 6:05 PM**

From: Eli (Huge Nerd)

To: Nozomi (Nozomi)

 _I'm not a nerd! And good._

 **Time: 6:08 PM**

From: Eli (Huge Nerd)

To: Nozomi (Nozomi)

 _Oh while you're here, though you aren't really here I guess since you're on the other side of the phone. Something weird happened with Maki today._

 **Time: 6:09 PM**

From: Nozomi (Nozomi)

To: Eli (Huge Nerd)

 _Something weirder than normal?_

 **Time: 6:15 PM**

From: Eli (Huge Nerd)

To: Nozomi (Nozomi)

 _Yup. After class Maki came over like a creep and asked me to find out about Nico's challenge for her._

 **Time: 6:17 PM**

From: Nozomi (Nozomi)

To: Eli (Huge Nerd)

 _Aww! That's kind of cute, she was too embarrassed to ask herself._

 **Time: 6:18 PM**

From: Eli (Huge Nerd)

To: Nozomi (Nozomi)

 _It was mostly annoying. Nico wa there. Go ask her yourself._

 **Time: 6:19 PM**

From: Eli (Huge Nerd)

To: Nozomi (Nozomi)

 _Why'd she have to drag me into it?_

 **Time: 6:20 PM**

From: Nozomi (Nozomi)

To: Eli (Huge Antisocial Nerd)

 _Because you're her upperclassmen!_

 **Time: 6:23 PM**

From: Nozomi (Nozomi)

To: Eli (Huge Antisocial Nerd)

 _Look at it this way. Maki trusted you to go get that info for her. She knew you wouldn't blow things by telling Nico who really wanted to know if she won. She didn't ask Honoka who was sitting right next to her, right?_

 **Time: 6:25 PM**

From: Eli (Huge Antisocial Nerd)

To: Nozomi (Nozomi)

 _That's true._

 **Time: 6:26 PM**

From Eli (Huge Antisocial Nerd)

To: Nozomi (Nozomi)

 _I feel much better now, thank you._

 **Time: 6:28 PM**

From: Nozomi (Nozomi)

To: Eli (Huge Antisocial Nerd)

 _Anytime! I'll try to come up with a way to help Nico and Maki reconcile too. I think they just need a good push in the right direction._

 **Time: 6:30 PM**

From: Eli (Huge Antisocial Nerd)

To: Nozomi (Nozomi)

 _Perfect! I need to start on my homework, so I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight!_

 **Time: 6:31 PM**

From: Nozomi (Nozomi)

To: Eli (Huge Antisocial Nerd)

 _Goodnight! ~~~~3_

* * *

 **Friday – 16 days**

Rin loves Fridays. Though it would be unfair to suggest Rin doesn't also love the other days of the week. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are just as good, but if Rin had to pick an ultimate favorite it would be Friday.

Friday is the day right before the weekend of course! On the weekend she gets to spend time with Kayo-chin and her other friends! Well typically she would. With all of this in-fighting she'll still get to see Kayo-chin, but who knows about the third years. She hasn't gotten to eat lunch with them since Monday!

For Rin, that's a really long time.

Maybe after band today she'll walk over to their table and see if they can all sit together. Nico and Maki will probably say no, but it can't hurt to try, right?

That's right, Rin is at band again. She's actually at band a few minutes before it starts, to be precise. Rin is currently performing the greatest task of all, tuning the timpanis. The school has a standard set, which is four of them, so it's not the simplest of tasks. Rin hoists her trusty pitch pipe and gets to work. The pitch pipe is round, so it fits snugly in her palm. She starts with the largest one, which is all the way to the left.

Rin clicks the note setter down to the lowest note and finds the matching pitch on her pitch pipe. She blows softly to generate the sound. It's the lowest note the pitch pipe is capable of, and the timpani resonates with it nicely when she taps it. This is great news, since if this one is in tune the whole instrument is most likely already in tune. Rin checks the other notes on the timpani and they sound perfect. Good job largest timpani, Rin gives it a friendly pat, everyone is very proud of you.

Unfortunately for Rin, the next two timpanis are grossly sharp. Rin releases the foot pedal on the bottom, she'll have to start from the beginning with this one. She plays the note through her pitch pipe and slowly presser her foot against the tuning pedal. She used to be too impatient for this, but after a couple of months she finally got it down. The timpani pitch crawls up and into place, leaving Rin extremely satisfied.

"Uh… Rin." A quiet voice distracts Rin from her timpani tuning. Not like she minds since the voice belongs to her absolute most favorite person on the planet.

"Kayo-chin!" Rin practically leaps over the timpani to stand next to her friend. She doesn't though, because that would be dangerous. Instead, she motions rapidly for Kayo-chin to walk around and join her in the timpani circle. It seems like they still have a coupe minutes before class starts, and though Rin still has two timpanis to tune, Kayo-chin is more important.

She seems nervous today, somehow more than usual. Her fingers are knit tightly together in front of her stomach and her gaze is cast towards the ground.

Rin tilts her head to one side, "What's wrong Kayo-chin?"

Kayo-chin swallows deeply and she glances over her shoulder before speaking. "I have a secret."

Oh, so it's not something bad after all. Rin's relieved. "A secret?"

"Shhh," Kayo-chin separates her hands in order to press one finger against Rin's lips. Rin grins widely at the contact; Kayo-chin is so cute. She seems to realize what she's done after a moment, and her finger disappears from site. "Anyway. This is a huge secret. So shh, okay?"

The request sounds reasonable enough. Rin nods once, keeping her mouth firmly shut. She places one hand over it and winks at Kayo-chin.

Kayo-chin looks relieved. "Okay good." She pauses for a second time, once again looking around to make sure no one is standing too close. "Umi has a crush on Eli."

Rin's glad she covered her mouth now, because she can't stop herself from shouting in surprise. The way things are it ends up sounding like "Mmmmph!" Hopefully the other students don't notice and wonder what's up.

Fortunately for the duo, most people are warming up for band rehearsal. No one is paying them any attention. Kayo-chin turns her attention back to Rin who's doing her best to calm down. She still has her hands clenched firmly over her mouth.

She inhales deeply through her nose like Kayo-chin taught her when it's time to relax. After a moment she exhales slowly, and then repeats the process. After three more breaths she removes her hand, pleased when no more inappropriately loud sounds sneak out.

Rin does her best to whisper, but she gets the feeling her whispers are still pretty loud. "That's incredible! How do you know?"

Kayo-chin tilts her forehead down as she leans in, moving towards Rin's right ear. "Honoka told me. Oh, and she told me not to tell anyone."

The news pushes Rin's grin even wider, "A secret, that's great! I'm so good with secrets."

Kayo-chin doesn't seem convinced. Rin isn't sure why; she's 100% trustworthy! Okay, so maybe when Kayo-chin told her about Maki's surprise party earlier that year she wasn't exactly able to stop herself from telling her. Or the year prior to that when she failed a quiz and wasn't supposed to tell her parents. She completely messed that one up too, though how they found out is kind of a blur.

Anyway, she's great with secrets. She wants to remind Kayo-chin of all these great times, but Ms. Aida looks like she's about to start class so they need to wrap up their conversation.

"Look, Umi's not ready to tell Eli yet, so please don't tell anyone," she begs, "Honoka will never tell me anything ever again."

That would be bad, if Kayo-chin doesn't get the secrets then neither will Rin. How's she going to keep up on all the band gossip without her number one source? Rin nods somberly, "I'll take it to the grave."

Rin's not sure if she's convinced her all the way, but it's time for class to start. She returns to her seat, and Rin realizes she completely forgot to tune the last two timpanis. Oh well, they're probably fine.

 **30 seconds later**

From: Rin (Nya)

To: Nozomi (Mom)

 _UMI HAS A CRUSH ON ELI!_

Nozomi's currently warming up in her seat, but she pulls her phone out when it buzzes. Rin's pretty far away, but she's pretty sure her upper classman starts chocking on her reed.

* * *

Honoka's day goes by pretty quickly, but after school can't come fast enough. She's so excited; they're finally going to practice for their trio! Honoka's been waiting for so long; she loves ensembles so much. She knows things have been a little tense in their group, but the three of them should be alright. It's not like Nico will be there.

Honoka's last class is pretty far from the band room, so she's the last to get there amongst the three of them. They've taken one of the practice rooms, so Honoka heads there once she's grabbed her trumpet.

They established their parts earlier, and Honoka is playing second. Honoka pulls her trumpet out and joins the two of them as they warm up.

Maki is off to the left and Eli is on her right. Both of them say hello, but Maki seems distracted. Eli nods politely at her and moves her stand a few inches to the right so she can squeeze in between them. Maki's gaze locks onto the wall in front of them, and Honoka wonders what she's caught up on.

Maki has plenty of things she could be thinking about, with her fight with Nico and all. Honoka thinks that whole thing is pretty ridiculous. They never did come up with a plan yesterday either.

Eli lowers her trumpet, and though she still looks somewhat worried she decides to start their rehearsal.

Eli decides they should play through the piece a few times just to get a feel for it, and Honoka agrees. They start from the top. The song is only about three minutes long, and it clicks along at 120 beats per minute.

Honoka likes second part. It's the perfect harmony part. She doesn't have to stress about the upper register, but she also doesn't have the boring long tones at the bottom. It's really the perfect compromise.

The second part in their trumpet trio is just the way she wants it. Once they finish the song they play again, and this time Honoka tries to focus on blending with her trio mates. Eli sounds perfect as always, but Maki seems a bit off. She plays fine 90% of the time, but every once in a while she misses a flat or sharp, or she rushes a couple notes and has to fall back.

She's just upset, Nico won her challenge again this morning. This puts her into the fourth seat for the clarinets, which is the first seat in the second row. Honoka beat Maki once again, and though the red head hasn't spoken out against her, the bread lover does feel bad. She doesn't want to upset Maki like this, but she can't give up her seat.

As much as Honoka loves second in a trio, during full band first is the only way to go. They get to play sometimes when none of the other trumpets do! There are also little duet parts sometimes, and Kotori told her that sitting second could help her with becoming section leader next year! Being the section leader would be the most amazing thing. Honoka would get to lead sectionals if they had them, and she also could choose what kind of ensemble they did. Being second chair is the first step to that.

Honoka's so lost in thought that she barely pays attention to her own playing at the end of the song, but fortunately things seem to turn out okay for her.

Once they stop playing Eli's eyes bore a hole into Maki's side. Her lips purse together, but Maki glances away, refusing to make eye contact.

"Maki…" Eli trails off, instead pulling a metronome out of her case. She turns it on and sets it to 120. "Nevermind… Let's just play it again."

Maki nods and raises her trumpet. She's still faced slightly away from them, so Honoka can't see her expression. The red head turns her head towards the door. Honoka wonders if she's looking for their other friends. Or maybe Nico, yeah it might make more sense if she's looking for Nico.

Maki turns back towards them and places the mouthpiece to her lips. "Let's go," she mumbles around the mouthpiece, her voice layered with irritation.

Eli once again looks like she has one hundred things that she'd like to get off her chest, but she chooses to hold back. Honoka tilts her head to once side as Eli glances away. If only she knew about Umi's crush on her, then she'd be so happy! Oh, but that's a huge secret, no one can find out. Though admittedly Honoka did tell Hanayo last night. Hanayo is quiet though, and completely trustworthy!

Eli counts them off, and they start again. Maki seems much better with tempo this time, and Honoka wonders if she was imagining it before. This makes it either their third or fourth playthrough, Honoka can't remember, and she thinks they already sound a lot better than when they started!

They practice for around thirty more minutes. Honoka loves playing the trumpet so it goes by in a blur. Maki looks at the door numerous times, though no one is ever there. Honoka wants to tell her that their friends have their own ensemble practice, but she thinks Maki already knows. They'll be done soon anyway.

As if she could hear her thoughts, Eli closes her music folder. "Let's call it here." Her eyes are locked onto the now closed folder, "This was a good rehearsal."

Honoka agrees wholeheartedly, "I think we got a lot done!"

Maki nods slowly but doesn't vocalize her opinion. Honoka turns back to Eli and can see that once again Eli is locked on to Maki. "Right… As far as our next practice, there are two Fridays before our performance. Can you guys make this time again for them."

"I can," Maki speaks this time, turning to put her trumpet back into its case. "I'll work on that one segment I keep rushing too."

Eli doesn't respond to the comment, but Honoka thinks she looks proud that Maki's going to work on something for their ensemble. Honoka is somewhat proud too, but it's also a given that Maki will work on it. They want to win right?

Honoka realizes she never answered Eli's question. "I can practice those days too!" Two more practices should be great to help them get in tip top shape for solo and ensemble. Then they can get ones and go to states!

Maybe she should explain, solo and ensemble has two levels, districts and states. Everyone starts out by going to districts and performing. Someone can play in an ensemble, have a solo, or do both if they really want to. Rin is playing a marimba solo which Honoka still thinks is pretty cool. At districts the judges assign the performance with a number. One, two, or three. One is the best in this situation, and if a group gets a one they can go on to play at states! It's the same for solos except they get a thorough breakdown of their performance to go with it.

Lots of people participate in an ensemble and also play a solo. Both Maki and Eli will play solos this year. Nozomi is also going to play an oboe solo, which Honoka's excited to hear.

Personally, Honoka's putting hers off until her third year of school, no need to stress too much about all of this. Solo and ensemble is supposed to be about having fun!

* * *

Nozomi's ensemble practice goes well. Everyone in her quartet is a quality player, so they easily work out their piece. The group practices for a good thirty minutes, though Nico asks if they can end a little early.

Nozomi assumes she wants to leave early in order to avoid Maki's group wrapping up. The shortest third year in their ensemble has always been pretty predictable. Hanayo and Anju don't question it either, so the group ends a few minutes prior to when they'd normally wrap up.

Just as predicted, Nico's out the door as soon as practice ends. Nozomi swings by the practice room that the trumpet trio is in. Surprisingly, she comes face to face with sharp purple eyes staring out the window. Nozomi grins mischievously and waves with a wink. Maki won't be seeing Nico today.

The red head's gaze snaps back towards her two companions, and it looks like they aren't quite done practicing yet. Nozomi goes to the band room to put her instrument away, and by time she returns they are packing up their stuff. Nozomi's happy about that because it means she'll have more time to take care of her homework once she gets home.

Maki exits the practice room first. Her greeting to Nozomi is halfhearted as she glances up and down the hallway. Nozomi doesn't have it in her heart to tell her that the person she's looking for is long gone.

Honoka exits next and her greeting is a bit more enthusiastic. She seems overjoyed from their rehearsal, and her innocent happiness brings a smile to Nozomi's face. She skips off towards the band room, swinging her trumpet case back and forth as she goes.

Eli is last, but to Nozomi she is never least. Her usually immaculate ponytail is slightly frazzled, probably from the long day. Still, she pushes a warm smile onto her face when she spots Nozomi, and that warmth spreads as if contagious. "One second," Eli turns towards the band room, she'll need to put her trumpet away, and then they can go.

Nozomi lingers in the hallway, and after a minute or so Eli returns. They always walk through the school and go out the front entrance, since it's the quickest path for their walk home.

Once Eli returns they exit the school quickly and walk down the steps to begin their trek. They live about half of a mile from the school, and then only a couple blocks from each other in that area. It's partially how the two of them became friends. Nozomi thinks back to that time fondly.

As first years, Nozomi liked to go to the band room after practice to get her oboe, and she often saw Eli picking up her trumpet to take it home. It only took a couple of weeks to notice they had the same walking path, and Nozomi soon suggested they walk together. She'd never seen Eli walk with anyone prior to that, and who couldn't use some more friends? Eli hesitated at first, but persistence paid off and now they're closer than Nozomi ever expected.

This is partially why Nozomi's nervous about telling Eli what she learned today. The information from Rin really surprised her, and it completely kept her from focusing in the rest of her classes today. She did manage to pull herself together for ensemble rehearsal, but if any of her friends are observant they probably noticed she wasn't 100% present.

Now she needs to tell Eli, and she's not sure how her friend is going to react.

"How was your practice?" Eli starts up an easy conversation, matching Nozomi step for step as they walk.

"It was pretty good," Nozomi shrugs, "Hanayo seems incredible to me. I remember at the beginning of the year when she'd barely talk with anyone in the entire band, except for Rin. Now she's in an ensemble all on her own. It's only been a few months; I can't wait to see how she is by the end of the year."

Eli agrees, "She's definitely grown a lot."

Nozomi flips the question around, she'll put off sharing her news for a few more seconds. "How about you?"

Eli considers the question for a moment, which is very like her. "It went better than I expected, though we aren't playing at the level that I want." Eli's expression twists as she clearly is stuck in her own head. "Maybe if we play through each chord slowly next time? I just want to establish a nice sound."

Nozomi nods her head as Eli delves a bit deeper into her plans for her ensemble. She's clearly thought through it a lot more than Nozomi has. She's always considered that to be one of Eli's strength. She thinks everything through carefully. Once Eli finishes her thought, Nozomi decides to breach her topic of choice. "Hold on a second…" Nozomi fishes into her pocket and pulls out her cellphone. She clicks to messages, then Rin, and then tilts her phone towards Eli.

Eli twists her head in order to read the text properly, but she ends up halting and reaching out to hold the phone steady. "Umi… has a crush on Eli? That's me…" Eli releases Nozomi and her grasp on the phone. She doesn't say anything additional, but confusion spreads across her face. She steps away from Nozomi and continues walking down the street wordlessly.

Nozomi watches her walk for a second, and then realizes she should probably follow her. Nozomi catches up with a few large strides, but she can't catch Eli's eye as the blonde is staring dead ahead, her face turned away which makes it impossible to read.

Eli stuffs her hands into her pockets and sighs, "Rin's not one for secrets huh."

"Mmm…" Is that really what she wants to talk about? Doesn't she care that Umi has feelings for her? Nozomi attempts to lean forward to see Eli's face better, but she turns away as if sensing her intent. "Eli." Nozomi attempts to lighten her voice, but she's sure it comes out sounding concerned nonetheless.

Eli finally turns her head back towards her friend, and now Nozomi can see her worry clear as day glistening in her eyes. "Yes?"

"Well?" Nozomi feels embarrassed, but she doesn't want to ask outright if Eli has feelings for their blue haired friend

Unfortunately for her, Eli doesn't understand the unspoken question, and the one word prompt only sends her deeper into confusion. "Well what?"

Nozomi shoots Eli a disbelieving stare. She decides to try again, "You know what."

Eli shakes her head, and on a normal day she'd smile at their banter, but perhaps the seriousness of the news she recently learned has squashed her usual feelings of comradery. "I really don't."

"Fine…" Nozomi takes a deep breath. "Are you going to accept her feelings?"

Eli's response doesn't come quite as quickly as Nozomi was hoping for, "Accept her feelings, like date her?" Oh she's still confused about all of this. That makes sense, since Eli is not very experience with these things. Not like Nozomi can talk.

Nozomi nods, and she tries to keep her voice from coming out too weak. "Yeah, we're high schoolers after all." Eli stays silent, so Nozomi adds, "Dating some is normal."

Understanding finally flashes on Eli's face. It disappears as quickly as it arrived, replaced with deep thought. Normally Nozomi loves the expression on her longtime friend, but a few butterflies flitter through her stomach as she watches Eli process the situation.

Finally she speaks, but her voices comes out quiet and unconfident. "I'm not…" Her mouth snaps shut, and she once again turns away in order to hide her expression. "Nozomi…"

Nozomi wants to say something, to say it's okay if Eli does like Umi, but the words die in her throat. All she can picture in her head is the two of them walking home from school, and the two of them seeing movies together on the weekend, with Nozomi demoted to lingering in the shadows. Her heart tightens; could this be the last time they get to walk like this? Nozomi's never been able to make friends, what if she never even sees Eli again after they graduate? Eli's never had more than one close person in her life, which has always been Nozomi. If Umi takes that spot, Nozomi can't even imagine what she'll do.

"Surely you know I'm not interested in her." The response jars Nozomi out of her thoughts. Her eyes snap over, and much to her surprise Eli's blue ones are waiting to meet hers. She seems more confident than a moment ago, and she reaches out as if to take Nozomi's hand within her own. She hesitates and stops her hand a few inches away, so Nozomi finishes the action for her, relief overwhelming any sense of rational thought. She lets their fingers brush together with the gentlest of touches. The contact is warm and comforting, but Nozomi immediately breaks it off when she feels heat splash onto her face.

The two continue walking in silence, but this time it's Nozomi looking the other way in order to get the her blush under control. She shouldn't feel this happy, since it obviously means something bad for Umi, but the thought of remaining by Eli's side overwhelms any concerns.

Eli's head seems to be more in the game. "What should I do?" Of course she wants advice, as mentioned before, Eli has little to no experience in these matters.

Nozomi's not sure what the best route is either. "The way I see it, you have a couple of options. You could pull her aside and discuss things with her."

"Or I could ignore it." Eli cuts in, then falls silent.

"Right," Nozomi nods, "You have to think about Umi's feelings. It might be easier for her to accept things if you talk to her directly right? Then at least there won't be any understandings."

Eli's expression is grim, and though she doesn't speak her eyes screams out in protest. They shift down to the sidewalk they're walking on, and she reaches out with her right foot to kick a rock. Nozomi watches the rock skitter ahead of them. It's a little slanted and after a few bounces it slides into the street.

Eli's eyes are still locked on the rock as they walk past it, and she finally lets out a long sigh. "I suppose you're right. You're usually spot on about things like this." Another small rock appears ahead of them on the path, but this time Eli steps over it instead of going for the kick. "The only thing I'm worried about is it causing drama within our group. Nico and Maki are still fighting after all."

Nozomi can't argue with that. Those two fight a lot, but this one seems to have taken things over the top. If Umi stops speaking with Eli after this, which would cause Honoka and Kotori to avoid them as well, then the group will have two points of separation instead of just one.

It's not the strongest of reasons to not confront Umi, but Nozomi supposes she'll let Eli off the hook for now. There's always the chance that Umi will muster up the courage to confess herself, and then Eli will have to deal with it then. "Let's wait until Nico and Maki make up then."

Eli nods, and her entire posture collapses in relief. "Sounds great." Eli pauses, "Thanks for your help Nozomi."

Nozomi shoots her a wide grin, "Any time!"

* * *

Thanks for reading! If you have any feedback please feel free to let me know.


	4. Chapter 4

Hello again! This is the shortest chapter yet, but only because of pacing I like ending with the texting segment.

* * *

 **Monday – 13 days**

The weekend goes all too quickly for Nico, and soon she once again finds herself in band class. Why do two days in school feel like two years, but Saturday and Sunday always go by in a flash? It's unfair. Nico thinks they should flip the schedules around. Monday through Friday would be the weekend and then they'd only have to go to school on Saturday and Sunday. She could get so much sleeping done if that were the case.

As is, she has to go back to school, and back to band. It's not like Nico doesn't enjoy band; things are just tense with Maki in the row behind her. Given, there are quite a few seats between them now, but Nico can still hear her playing and she ends up lamenting about their fight. She did the same thing yesterday, and she'll surely do the same thing tomorrow.

She wishes more clarinets than three sat in the first row, then she'd already have a whole additional row between them. Unfortunately, Ms. Aida favors the flutes, so they have their two piccolos and the top four flutes hogging up the front row space.

So for today she's on the end of the second row. She has every intention of winning again today. She practiced the first part this weekend in order to ensure her victory.

At the end of class, Ms. Aida holds up a clipboard and shows them a room signup sheet. With solo and ensemble only two weeks away, they need to sign up for their rooms for Saturday night. There are 60 girls attending solo and ensemble, which means at four to a room they will fill 15 rooms. Ms. Aida places the clipboard at the front of the room with a pen and gives them simple instructions. Put your name in a room for the trip. She also instructs them to sign up before they leave for lunch today, since she will need to submit these assignments to the hotel after school. Nico thinks she put it off until the last minute, but her ensemble did the same exact thing.

Class ends, but Nico is hardly worried about rushing over there. She has her challenge to worry about first. She'll be with Eli and Nozomi of course, and then whoever else signs up with them is fine. Maybe one of the second years will end up as their fourth member.

Students hustle to get into a forming line behind the clipboard, and Nico notices Nozomi amongst them. Nozomi turns and shoots her a thumbs up. Good, she's going to sign her up for the same room.

With that settled, Nico picks up her music and walks to the front row in order to sit next to her challenge. Nanako is her name, and she greets Nico warmly. She's probably the best sport out of everyone she's challenged so far. She must be feeling confident since she's been playing first part since the beginning of the year. Nico started just this weekend, but she put a lot of time into preparing for her challenge.

Maki's also practicing for her millionth challenge with Honoka. Honoka's shouting across the room instead of practicing, she wants Kotori to put them on the roof of the hotel. Nico can't tell if she's being serious, though since it's Honoka she probably is.

Ms. Aida decides to have the trumpet challenge first today, probably in a sense of fairness since they usually end up waiting. Nico listens closely even though she really should be preparing for her own challenge.

Maki's tone sounds warmer today, not like it doesn't usually sound nice. Nico can tell her metronome practice must have paid off since she does a pretty good job staying in time. When Honoka plays it almost sounds like a tie, though a tie means the person keeps their seat. It's unfortunate for Maki, but Nico thinks it's a good sign that she's coming so close to the win.

If Maki wins her challenge soon, it'll be up to Nico to step up her game before she can beat Eli. Eli's an incredible trumpet player, and there's no way Maki will ever defeat her, but Nico doesn't want to leave anything to chance.

Ms. Aida is talking with the two trumpet players, so Nico takes the opportunity to look over her music. She's stalled when Nozomi appears behind her stand. She's grinning from ear to ear, which Nico finds slightly suspicious. "I thought you were waiting in line."

"I just finished!" Nozomi practically sings, "And you'll never guess how great our room is."

Nozomi's behavior is suspicious. Why would their room be anything but ordinary? Unless… "What did you do?" Nico narrows her eyes.

Nozomi gasps as if surprised by the accusation, "I didn't do anything! All I did was sign us up. We are in room 12."

Nico sighs and crosses her arms in annoyance. "And who else is in room 12?"

Nozomi's lips twist in an almost manic grin. "Oh you know, you, me, Eli…" Nozomi pauses for dramatic effect, "…and Maki."

Nico chokes on her spit. "Maki?!" Nico's head snaps to the back of the room, and she can see Maki receiving similar news from Eli. Nico imagines the look of shock spreading onto Maki's face is similarly reflected on her own. She watches Maki huff over to the sign up list, her face just as red as her hair. Normally Nico likes seeing her riled up like this, but only when she causes it herself. In this case, she's going to have to suffer as well.

"What the hell Nozomi." Nico snaps as she spins back towards her stand, and Nozomi is still grinning widely at her. "I didn't think I'd need to tell you that I _don't_ want to room with her."

"I thought it would be good for you." Nozomi's response sounds genuine, though Nico can never be sure. If she really wanted what was best for her then she'd sign Nico up for a room as far away from Maki as physically possible.

Nico leans back in her seat, and for a moment she wonders how satisfying it would be to smash her clarinet over her friend's skull a few times.

That might hurt the clarinet though, so she decides against it. In fact, she can't take any action since Ms. Aida is walking over for their challenge. Nozomi turns to walk away, but Nico lashes out to stop her. Her hand latches onto Nozomi's closest sleeve, causing the standing girl to pause. "We'll talk about this later."

"Of course," Nozomi doesn't look down, just commits as if that were obvious. Nico releases Nozomi's sleeve, and her own head is swimming with thoughts. Sharing a room with Maki? They haven't had an amicable conversation for almost a week now, what makes her think they can spend a whole night in the same space?

Either way, she needs to win her challenge now. Ms. Aida is waiting for her to start playing, so Nico raises her clarinet to her lips. She focuses on the music, and inhales deeply. She starts to play, but as she clicks through the notes she can tell she's not playing her best. How could she can't focus on the task at hand. Every time she tries she imagines what Maki will say to her in their shared room, and it causes her to wince.

She tries to finish strongly, but somehow the instrument drifts flat. Maybe she's squeezing it too tight. Nanako is too nice to say anything once she finishes, but it's apparent to her and anyone lingering in the room that she's made a huge fool of herself. Nico's cheeks burn and she hangs her head as Nanako whizzes through the part with ease.

Not like it's needed, but Ms. Aida confirms that Nanako will hold on to her seat for today. Nico can't even argue; she merely packs up in silence. The band room is almost empty at this point, so Nico walks over to the sign up clipboard to confirm what Nozomi told her.

Sure enough, Nozomi scratched her name as well as Maki's underneath the sign up for room 12. Nico does a quick scan of the list. If there are any openings she could scribble Maki's name out and add it to a different room. She curses under her breath as it appears that everyone actually followed instructions today. Every room is completely full.

Nico briefly considers crossing a random girl's name out to switch her with Maki, but the chances of her getting caught and then getting in trouble for that are pretty high. She drops the pen, sighing as it clunks dully against the clipboard.

* * *

Eli's still getting used to their new lunch arrangement. The second years filter in and out, but Nozomi and Nico are always there. Eli's expecting world war three when Nico arrives, and the short teen doesn't disappoint.

"If I see you off school grounds, so help me Nozomi, I'll…" Nico jabs her index finger across the table and towards Nozomi's grinning face.

"You'll what?" Nozomi taunts. "Whoop my ass?"

Eli doesn't know the reference, but Nico's face tinges pink from recognition. "Hey!"

Nozomi laughs and leans forward to pat Nico twice on her right shoulder. "Sorry, that was a low blow." Nico's eyes narrow at the contact. "Look, it's two weeks from now. If you haven't made up by then, it'll be long overdue."

"It already is overdue." Eli layers her voice with as much snark as she can. "You weren't at our practice on Friday. She couldn't keep her eyes off the door."

"Ooooh so she was looking for me?" Nico switches from anger to smugness in three seconds flat, her frustration with Nozomi temporarily forgotten. "That's rich. Now I wish I would've walked over there."

"You would've just started more trouble," Eli grumbles. "Until you're ready to make up, please don't approach her during practice."

"Fine," Nico crosses her arms and accompanies it with a pout. "I'm still mad at you by the way, I just don't have anywhere else to sit."

Nozomi smiles good naturedly at their black haired companion, "We love you too Nico." The comment is met with an eye roll, but Nico can't keep a slight smile from sneaking onto her face.

"That's good, since you'll have to put up with me for that entire weekend."

That's a good point. Eli was a little nervous letting Nozomi choose their room for them, but it seems to have worked out fine. Dealing with Nico and Maki may be a challenge, but it means she won't have to room with Umi. Despite talking things through just a few days prior, Eli is still a bit stuck on what she should do.

Every hour she seems to change her mind. Does she tell Umi how she feels and risk ending their friendship, or does she stay silent and hope that Umi's feelings go away on their own. The third option is of course that Umi confesses to her, but this would be a worst case scenario for Eli since she'd probably just run away. She wants to consult with Nozomi again, maybe they can chat after school about it. "Nozomi. I have something I want to talk about later."

Nozomi turns so her kind expression is directed towards Eli, and it immediately brings the stressing teen some relief. "Okay." She doesn't press, probably because she's already guessed the topic.

Nico has significantly less tact than her purple haired friend. "About Umi, right?"

Eli's heart drops into her gut. "How do you…?" She pauses. She doesn't need to ask this question because she already knows the answer, "Honoka."

Nico nods, "She told me this weekend. I think I was the last person to find out, which is pretty shocking. I should've been told first, since I'm so good at giving advice and all."

Nozomi chides Nico for bringing it up in such a public space, but a quick glance around confirms that their friends are sitting well out of earshot. She seems to want to change the topic, but now Eli is curious. "What would you do then?"

"First, I wouldn't dawdle around like this." Nico leans on her elbow in order to bring herself closer to her friends. "You're the upper classmen. _You_ are the one who is supposed to have things under control. If I were you, I'd confront her about it. If you don't it'll come back to bite you later."

"Ironic advice considering your current situation." Despite her words holding significant meaning, Nozomi lightens her tone so it comes out in a more teasing manner. "Perhaps you should apply this logic with Maki."

Nico scoffs at the suggestion. "Maki's not as logical as Umi. Umi wants you to tell it to her like it is. Maki likes to play games." Nico tilts her head to the left slightly as she tries to think of the right thing to say. When she finally speaks her voice comes out angry and a little too loud. "Also, she doesn't like me, and I don't like her, period. It's not the same."

"Are you guys talking about Umi and Maki?" A bright voice nearly causes Eli to jump out of her skin. "I think they're both being silly!" Eli snaps her head left and she's met with two shining blue eyes. Honoka somehow snuck up on the group, and now she has both palms face down on the end of their table. She doesn't give them a chance to respond and continues speaking, "I can't believe you didn't invite me to gossip with you. First Maki with the flash mob, and now this!" Honoka pouts.

Eli raises one hand slowly, and fortunately Honoka closes her mouth to let her speak. "You're welcome to sit with us whenever you'd like."

"Great, thank you!" Honoka plops down next to Nico, and the pigtail wearing teen scoots inward so she can fully fit onto the bench. "I've missed you guys so much!"

Honoka's enthusiasm is as contagious as always, and Eli finds herself smiling at the younger girl's childlike antics. "We just saw each other at band."

"Yeah, but that was band! Band isn't lunch, we can't really talk at band." Honoka still has her usual smile pasted to her face, but her hands drum the table subconsciously as she talks.

"Is there something you want to talk about?" Nozomi asks. She must have noticed the nervous behavior as well.

Honoka glances at her phone, "I do, but I don't think we have time now. Can I walk home with you guys after school today?" Honoka's voice comes out a bit subdued, almost as if she thinks they might say no.

Eli doesn't see any reason why not. She wants to discuss her own topic with Nozomi of course, but they can do that after Honoka splits off from them. The orange haired second year lives about five minutes closer to school than they do.

Eli shifts her gaze to Nozomi before responding. The walking time is hers too. She doesn't want to make a decision that they both aren't okay with. Nozomi shoots her a thumbs up, so she turns back to Honoka. "Sure."

* * *

Losing her challenge today means Nico will need to practice extra hard tonight in order to make up for her failure. This entails taking her instrument home with her and playing long into the night. Clarinets are relatively light instruments; she just needs to go get it before she leaves for the day.

The only problem is a certain someone will also be going to the band room since they have a challenge of their own to prepare for. In lieu of today's events, Nico would rather avoid her at all costs. She doesn't know exactly how Maki will react to them sharing a room, but chances are it'll cause more sparks between them. For now, the best course of action is to avoid her. Then they can both sleep on what's happened and maybe have an amicable conversation about it down the road.

Nico scurries down the hallway and hopes she can get in and out without running into any trouble. Nico pushes the door open and steps into the band room. She lets out a low groan. Of course she's already in here. Maki's pulling her trumpet out of her locker, but her actions seem slow and deliberate. Her head suddenly turns towards Nico, and they both jump when their eyes meet. Maki snaps her eyes back to her locker. Was she waiting for Nico?

This doesn't make any sense, unless she wants to reconcile. It's been almost one week since their fight now, so maybe she's ready to apologize. Nico thinks she could muster one up if Maki apologizes first. Then they can talk again. Nico has so many stories that she wants to share. Her heart flutters when Maki closers her locker and starts to cross the room towards her. Nico turns towards her locker and urges her heart to calm itself. She doesn't want Maki to hear it pounding in her chest. She quickly unlocks her locker and secures her clarinet. She turns back around and takes a deep breath.

Maki finally takes her last step, stopping about six inches in front of Nico. She twirls one finger through her hair, her eyes directed towards the ground. "Um…"

"What do you want?" Nico immediately winces when her own voice comes out sounding lower and meaner than she wanted.

Maki scowls at the greeting, but after a moment her face shifts back into the usual light frown. Her hair twirling speeds up if that's at all possible. "We're sharing a room next weekend."

Calling it next weekend makes it sound so close. Nico's not sure where Maki's going with this, but their voices have stayed at normal levels so far, which is a good sign. "Nozomi told me."

"Right." Maki stops twirling her hair long enough to put her trumpet down, but then she continues. She presses her lips together tightly.

"Could it be that you're nervous about sharing a room with the great nico-ni?" Nico wiggles her eyebrows as she quips. Maki cracks the tiniest of smiles, and Nico feels the tension that's been lingering in her shoulders start to drain away. She's really missed this.

Maki retorts back sarcastically, "How'd you guess it?"

Nico thinks the question might be rhetorical, but she's going to answer anyway. "Intuition. I've always had a sixth sense for these things." Nico laughs, "I'm the one who should be worried, I'm not sure your ego will fit in the room." Nico laughs internally. It's funny because trumpet players have huge egos.

Maki's hand freezes mid hair twirl. She gapes at Nico for a moment with her eyes wide. Then, she springs into action. Within the next few seconds she's grabbed her trumpet and turned towards the door. "I gotta go," Her voice comes out just above a whisper, and before the minute ends she's gone.

Nico stands there dumbfounded. What was that all about? All she did was start up their usual banter. Everything was going smoothly, so why did she suddenly leave? It doesn't make sense.

* * *

Eli and Nozomi meet Honoka after school on the stairs. They agreed to walk home together, and fortunately the bread lover is punctual for once. Nozomi's kind of surprised that neither of Honoka's fellow second year friends tag along for the journey.

Honoka greets them brightly and the three make their way down the stairs in front of the school. "I always loved these steps," she chirps, "They seem like they'd be fun to dance on."

"You'd probably fall and break a limb," Eli comments. She has one hand on the railing even though they're only walking right now. "I feel like I could fall even without dancing down them."

Honoka nods thoughtfully, "They are pretty steep I suppose, but that's what makes it fun!"

Nozomi laughs warmly. Honoka always manages to put her in a good mood. She glances over at Eli, who's walking on her right with Honoka a couple steps in front of them. They almost seem like parents walking their child home from school. Nozomi wonders if Eli would agree with that statement.

Once they get down to the path Honoka does a slow 360, probably to make sure no one's nearby. Her hands are stuffed deep into her pockets, and she slouches slightly as they walk.

Nozomi decides now's as good of a time as any to discuss Honoka's topic of choice. The sooner they start the more time they'll have before she has to branch off. "So, what would you like to talk about?"

"Ah right," Honoka turns her head so they can hear her. "It's about Kotori. It's weird for me to talk about a friend behind her back, but I need some advice."

"Oooh, love advice?" Nozomi wiggles her eyebrows. The cards didn't predict this at all. Eli elbows her lightly in the side when Honoka suddenly chokes on her own spit.

"Love advice? No it's nothing like that." Honoka's usually grinning face dips into a slight frown. "Kotori told me she's thinking about quitting the band." Honoka faces fully forward as they continue to walk, so Nozomi can barely hear her last sentence. "I don't want her to quit."

Nozomi shares a look with Eli. Her blonde friend has a thoughtful expression on her face, and when they make eye contact her eyes are full of sympathy. She turns her head forward so she can speak to Honoka. "Why do you think she wants to quit?"

Honoka shrugs and this time completely turns around so she's walking backwards on the sidewalk. "Umi told me it's because she doesn't feel like she's helping the band. She also thinks Kotori's sad about sitting last."

Eli nods as if this makes sense to her. "Umi's opinion is important, and in this instance, I do agree with her, but I want to know what _you_ think."

Nozomi adds her own thoughts into the mix, "The only way you can help her is by figuring out what truly matters to her."

Honoka seems to get it. "Hmmm," she pulls one hand out of her pocket and raises it to her chin. "Maybe she doesn't enjoy band anymore? Umi and I did talk about that a little too. We decided to show Kotori how fun band is!"

That sounds like a good idea to Nozomi, "And how's that going?" She asks.

Honoka crinkles her eyebrows together at the question, "Ehhhh not so well. We haven't exactly started yet." Honoka wobbles slightly as her balance is thrown off by a turn in the sidewalk. "I want to start showing her great band things but I don't want to mess it up. That's part of what I want your help on because I can't figure out what to do…" Honoka finally turns back around, and then slows so she can actually walk between her two upper classmen. "What do you love about band?"

That's a very good question, one that Nozomi wasn't expecting from the usually goofy second year. It's easy for her to answer though. "For me, I love being able to play with everyone every day. I love adding my part in and knowing that the ensemble wouldn't be complete without it."

Eli seems more awed by the answer then Honoka. "That's a great reason…" Eli glances off to the side, her eyes following the cracks in the sidewalk. She needs a bit longer to think, so the three of them walk in silence for a few moments. Eli keeps her gaze locked on the ground until she's ready, then she looks up and begins to speak. "For me, it's about being with my friends. I like performing, and it feels good when we finally get something right. Every time I sit on stage I'm grateful that I decided to join the band."

Honoka grins from ear to ear. "Those are the best answers ever! Thank you! I thiiiiink Kotori feels this way too, I just need to get her to remember it!"

Nozomi agrees, she thinks Kotori just needs a reminder of what's truly the most important when it comes to band. She also has an idea, "You're rooming with Kotori at solo and ensemble right?"

Honoka nods and shoots a thumbs up in affirmative, "Yup! It'll be me, her, Umi, and Kimiko."

"Perfect. I think you should talk to her then. If you approach too early she may lose focus for solo and ensemble." Nozomi's growing more confident about her plan with each passing word.

Honoka's still a bit confused, "Okay, but what do I talk about?"

"That's the easy part," Nozomi raises an arm and drapes it over Honoka's shoulder to give her a comforting squeeze, "Talk about the friends you've made in the past year. Talk about all of the times you chugged red bull in order to make it through an entire pit orchestra rehearsal. Talk about all of the fun trips you've been on with the group. Share each memory you've built together, and remind her that the best of times are yet to come." Her eyes flicker to Eli's as she speaks, but she looks away quickly when they make eye contact.

Honoka turns her head to once again thank her upper classmen for their help, and now her grin has softened into a gentle smile. "Thank you so much! I just had the perfect idea! I'll make sure to get everything ready for solo and ensemble." Honoka takes off into a light sprint, though she's still shouting as she runs away. "I need to get started I'll see you guys later!" Her voice fades into the wind, and then she turns the upcoming corner and disappears.

Nozomi's not exactly sure what the bread lover needs to prepare, but she's sure if anyone can convince Kotori to stay in the band, it's Honoka.

* * *

 **Time: 6:00 PM**

From: Nico (Nico)

To: Eli (Boss)

 _Hey_

 **Time: 6:02 PM**

From: Nico (Nico)

To: Eli (Boss)

 _You play the trumpet right?_

 **Time: 6:05 PM**

From: Eli (Boss)

To: Nico (Nico)

 _Do you really need me to confirm this?_

 **Time: 6:06 PM**

From: Nico (Nico)

To: Eli (Boss)

 _I guess not hahaha… nyway let me run a joke by you_

 **Time: 6:10 PM**

From: Nico (Nico)

To: Eli (Boss)

 _We're sharing a room together, but I'm kind of worried that your ego isn't going to fit in the room_

 **Time: 6:11 PM**

From: Nico (Nico)

To: Eli (Boss)

 _Offended? y/n?_

 **Time: 6:20 PM  
**

From: Eli (Boss)

To: Nico (Nico)

 _Y_

 **Time: 6:21 PM**

From: Nozomi (Meme Loving Trash)

To: Nico (My Son Who Disappoints Me)

 _Wtf what did you send Eli?_

 **Time: 6:22 PM**

From Nozomi (Meme Loving Trash)

To: Nico (My Son Who Disappoints Me)

 _Nevermind it doesn't matter, just apologize_

 **Time: 6:23 PM**

From: Nico (My Son Who Disappoints Me)

To: Nozomi (Meme Loving Trash)

 _Fiiiiiiiiiine_

 **Time: 6:30 PM**

From: Nico (Nico)

To: Eli (Boss)

 _I am so sorry for what I said. I truly wanted to know if you thought it was offensive, since I could not figure it out. Please forgive me I do not want to eat lunch alone. Your friend, Nico._

 **Time: 6:35 PM**

From: Eli (Boss)

To: Nico (Nico)

 _Fine, I forgive you._

 **Time: 6:36 PM**

From: Nico (Nico)

To: Eli (Boss)

 _: D_

* * *

Thanks for hanging in there with me!


	5. Chapter 5

Ummm so it's been 2 years, just found this in a word doc and realized I only published half of it so here's some more. Sorry that it's so long.

* * *

 **Tuesday: 12 days**

About once a month, Nozomi runs out of reeds. Given, she only makes two or three at a time, so a month is a pretty long time for them to last. She doesn't own her own Oboe whittling kit yet, so she has to borrow the schools.

Unfortunately, the school won't let her take the kit home with her, so she actually has to go into the band room before or after school. Then she has to set up the entire oboe whittling kit and make her oboe reeds. She usually opts to go before school, since she likes having the time afterwards to take care of her homework.

Nozomi gets up an hour early in order to come complete her task. She texts Eli at the last second, she knows that her friend wouldn't hesitate to come in early with her, but she wants Eli to get all the sleep she can. Eli always chides her when she gets to school on days like this, but she can handle it. Her last reed is on its last few days, so she'll be in trouble if she doesn't make a new one.

The "reed making kit," is actually just a mandrel for the reed to sit on and a sharp reed knife. The reed knife reminds Nozomi of a butcher knife, but it's a much smaller and thinner version. Instead of butchering meat it butchers wood, in the least weird way possible.

Nozomi chuckles under her breath as she preps her reeds. She purchased three this time, since they'll be practicing extra for solo and ensemble. She buys the reeds partially carved, so they already have their shape on top, she just slices them down the middle and adjusts them so they're all the same. One day she wants to make reeds from scratch, but for now that goal is still out of reach.

Nozomi fills her soaking cup with water and places the three unfinished reeds into it. This is why she needs to arrive so early. The reeds will need to soak in the cup for about thirty minutes before she can carve them. Nozomi sits down in a nearby chair and sets a timer on her phone. Once she tried to soak the reeds here overnight, but in the morning, they'd completely disintegrated. Now she just comes in early. It's nice because she gets a chance to listen to some music. Logic says she also could study for any tests or quizzes that day, but she never does.

Instead, she puts in her earbuds and clicks into her top rated. Her taste in music is what many people would call unusual. She likes peppy music and rock, but she also likes a few classical pieces that Eli's gotten her into. Basically, when her phone is shuffled she never knows what'll pop up.

Nozomi chooses to start with some classical music and clicks The Planets, by Holst. The full recording is almost fifty minutes, so she won't finish by time her reeds are done soaking.

Nozomi wishes she could sit in an orchestra so she could play this piece. For now though she has to settle for listening. Nozomi leans back in the chair and her eyes slide shut as she lets the music wash over her.

Her alarm is beeping over the music before she knows it, and Nozomi rises from her seat to attend to her reeds. She also turns off her music, lots of people come in and out of the room as they arrive for school, she doesn't want to be startled and accidentally cut herself.

It's a good decision too, since as soon as she picks up the reed knife the band door swings open. A familiar face steps through the doors, and the young teen shouts out when she spots Nozomi across the room. "Good morning Nozomi!" She skips across the room, somehow full of energy despite it being 7:15 in the morning.

"Good morning Rin," Nozomi bows her head slightly before turning back to her task. She reaches into her reed soaker and pulls out the first one. She tests the flexibility with her thumb, and it seems soft enough for cutting.

Rin stops a few inches to her left, but her body continues to lean inward until she's almost a nose length away from Nozomi's face. "What're you doing?"

Nozomi picks up her mandrel as she responds, "I'm making reeds." She sticks the base of the reed onto the mandrel firmly, giving it a slight twist to lock it in place.

"You have to make your own reeds?" Rin backs up slightly so she can watch as Nozomi raises her reed knife. "Kayo-chin never mentioned anything like that."

Nozomi chuckles under her breath, "That's probably because flutes don't use reeds."

Nozomi pauses to glance over at Rin, the orange haired second year looks lost in thought. "That makes sense…"

Nozomi nods once, "Most reed users don't need to make their own either, since it's just a single reed. Mine's a double so I carve them myself. Here," Nozomi turns so she's facing Rin, and she centers her blade on top of the reed. She continues to explain as she slices, "Oboes and bassoons use double reeds, which helps make the sound we need. Ones that you buy at the store are often inconsistent and hard to play on, so I learned to make my own." Once the reaches the bottom, Nozomi draws the knife out and rotates the reed onto its side. "This is my personal preference, but I like to smooth out the top a bit here in order to help it vibrate better."

Nozomi does a few wide slices on the outside of the reed, then places her reed knife down and grabs a long wax string off the table. She ties it tightly around the reed, completing it. She removes it from the mandrel and offers it to Rin, "Would you like to hold it?"

Rin eagerly accepts, and she holds it up under the school's fluorescent lights. "This is amazing! You can do such a cool thing!" Rin gives the reed back to Nozomi for a second, and she eagerly watches Nozomi carve the remaining two reeds.

The last part is leaving them to dry, and Nozomi has a special holder for that. She places the reeds in there gently, they'll need a couple of days before they're ready to be played on. Rin seems disappointed that she can't use them right away, "What'll you use during band?"

"I have one of my reeds from last time that will hold out." Nozomi guarantees, "I wouldn't let the band down like that."

Nozomi walks across the room to put the drying reeds into her locker, and she notices that Rin is still following her. "Hey Nozomi," Her voice comes out with the same energy as usual, but it tinges with what sounds like nerves.

Nozomi's reached her locker by this point, so she places the reeds inside and turns back towards her underclassmen. "Yes?"

"How do you play the Oboe?" Rin's eyes are bright and wide with curiosity. "When I look at the reed thingy it just seems impossible."

The comment is very Rin like, and it brings a smile to Nozomi's lips. "How about I show you?"

"Really?" Rin smiles back, "That would be great!"

Nozomi glances at the clock to make sure they have time, and it looks like they have about 20 minutes before the first bell will ring. That's plenty of time, so Nozomi turns back towards her locker in order to retrieve her Oboe. "It's not as hard as you think." She walks over to a few nearby seats and sits down. "Normally, I like to soak my reed in water a few minutes before using it, but I'll just suck on it for a moment here. The reed needs to be wet or it won't vibrate properly."

"Why does it need to vibrate." Rin plops down in the neighboring chair as she asks.

"A very good question! The vibrations of the reed is what makes the whole instrument work. Basically, you make the reed vibrate and then the instrument amplifies it." Nozomi pops open her case and pulls out her reed. "One second." She slips the playing end of the reed into her mouth and pulls the parts of her Oboe out of the case one by one. She holds them up to show Rin, then twists them together smoothly. "Hmmpm" She attempts to explain that the pieces fit together easily for quick construction, but she's not sure the message comes across.

Rin's captivated by the instrument anyway. She places her hands on the edge of her chair in order to lean towards Nozomi.

It's been a few moments now, so even though the reed isn't as prepared as she wants it, it should be fine for a couple moments of playing. Nozomi removes the reed from between her lips and secures it at the head of the oboe. "Okay, so what I like to do is press it against my bottom lip, then roll up to make sure it's not touching my teeth."

"It can't touch your teeth?"

Nozomi shakes her head, "If your teeth touch it then it won't make any sound." Nozomi demonstrates, bringing the Oboe up to her lips. She considers trying to speak around it, but then decides not to risk being misunderstood and draws the oboe away from her face. "Then you blow really hard." She returns the oboe to its previous position and inhales deeply, then plays a b flat. It sounds a little off with the reed not being soaked properly, but she doesn't think Rin can tell.

Nozomi releases the note after a couple beats, then drops the oboe into her lap. "There are fingerings you can learn to make different sounds come out of the oboe. Unlike most instruments, there are actually multiple fingers for each note. I think it makes it more interesting this way." Nozomi holds the oboe out, "Here would you like to try?"

Rin seems slightly less eager than she was when she accepted the reed earlier, but still much more eager than an ordinary person. She picks the oboe up gingerly, like she's afraid she might break it. She rotates it so the mouthpiece is facing upwards. "I hold it like this?" Her hands are splayed across a few of the keys, but she's a little off.

Nozomi can't help but smile at how endearing her efforts are. "Here let me help you." Nozomi reaches over and moves Rin's fingers into the correct positioning. "Perfect, now you look like a real oboist."

Rin beams at the compliment. She hoists the oboe up to her face, and Nozomi can tell by the way she puts it into her mouth that there's no way the reed will still be open for sound to come through. Rin mimics the breath she just saw Nozomi do, and then blows as hard as she can. Nozomi can hear the air whooshing through the instrument, but no sound seems to be coming out at all. Rin puffs her cheeks up from the effort, her face slowly turning red. She exhales heavily for a couple more seconds, but the releases the oboe and turns it to place into her laugh. "It didn't work at all," she laughs as she regains her breath.

Rin pushes the oboe back towards Nozomi, but she shakes her head. "You don't want to try again?"

"Maybe tomorrow," Rin presses the oboe into Nozomi's hands gently. "I'm not sure it's for me."

Rin's eyes drop into her lap, and her now empty hands squeeze together. Nozomi reaches out with her left hand to cover Rin's. "You just picked a really hard one. You should try the clarinet. I think you'd like it."

Rin doesn't seem convinced, but she does crack a small smile. "Will do, thank you!"

* * *

After yesterday's incident, Maki wants to win more than ever. She's willing to do whatever it takes. She's fed up with the repetitiveness of her challenging. Every day she challenges Honoka, every day she feels like she's improved some but she still can't beat her upper classman. This call for drastic measures.

Maki makes sure to get to band quickly after first hour, and she lingers in the hallway as students walk by. She sees a few familiar faces, and then finally the one she's looking for. The orange haired girl looks half asleep as she drags her feet down the hallway. Kotori and Umi are banking her, though the two don't seem worried with her sleepy expression. They're chatting amicably as the three make their way to band. Kotori notices Maki near the door so she waves.

Maki steps towards them and clears her throat, "Honoka, got a minute?"

Honoka's half asleep and doesn't respond, so after a moment Umi jabs her elbow into her side, "Honoka!" She jolts her friend awake.

"Wuh…" Honoka perks up from the stabbing into her gut, "Woah! What's up?"

Umi rolls her eyes, "Maki wants to talk to you."

Maki nods when Honoka's eyes shift over to her. "Oh… okay!" Honoka stares at her expectantly.

"Can we talk over there," Maki motions towards the practice rooms.

Umi's snaps her gaze over, and Maki wonders if she's guessed the subject line. Her lips tilt down into a frown, but she leans back to murmur a few words to Kotori. "Let's go ahead." Kotori nods, and the two of them step away and into the band room.

Maki walks to the closest practice room, and she's relieved when Honoka trails after her. They only have a couple minutes to talk before they need to get into the band room for practice. Maki pulls the door open and steps inside, then turns and waits for Honoka to enter and close the door.

The second year has a half smile on her face, and a nervous bead of sweat is running down her forehead. She lingers near the door once inside, as if she's planning to escape at the first sign of trouble.

"Honoka…" Maki takes a deep breath and bows her head, "Please throw the challenge today?"

Honoka's smile disappears in a flash, her hands rising to create a barrier between them. "Maki, I can't…"

"Please," Maki cuts her off, her head still bowed as she continues. "Nico has already won multiple challenges, and I can't even get to second chair. If she gets all the way to first chair and I haven't even won once I won't be able to live with myself." Maki forces her head down even further, and she waits in silence for Honoka's answer.

About half a minute ticks by, and Maki finally picks her head up. Honoka's simply staring at her, as if she was waiting for her under classman to return to a fully standing position. "Maki. You know how much I love you. I can't, it wouldn't be right." Honoka rubs one of her hands on the back of her neck. "Besides, Nico listens every day, she'd know if I threw it. Wouldn't she still consider it to be a loss at that point." Honoka takes a small step backwards and places her hand against the door. "I'm really sorry Maki."

With that Honoka bows slightly and slips out of the room. Maki clenches her fists as she's left in utter silence. What a stupid idea; of course she said no. No one in their right mind would agree to throw a challenge, much less when they are friends with both of the waging parties. Maki's pretty sure she'd do the same thing if she were in Honoka's position.

Maki takes a deep breath in order to calm herself. She has to go to band now and act completely normal. Nico will definitely notice if she behaves strangely. She closes her eyes and focuses on exhaling her breath. She inhales for a second time, holds it for a few moments, and then blows all of the air out through her nose.

She's ready to go to band now. Maki calmly exits the practice room and enters the band room. Fortunately, students are still milling about and getting ready so she blends right in and fetches her trumpet. She quickly takes it out of the case and sets her music up on the stand. It looks like she has a couple minutes to warm up so she blows a few long tones.

Honoka's also sitting in her seat, but she refuses to glance over at the third chair trumpet. Instead she turns towards Eli, and the upper classman is showing her the alternate fingerings for a rather difficult part they need to play. It's something about one and two instead of open for a high e in the middle of a slur, or something like that.

That's fine, Maki doesn't need to speak with her more anyway. Tsubasa is on her left, and when Maki glances over she notices that the usually quiet second year is looking right at her. "Good morning." She attempts to be friendly, but her voice comes out tinged with irritation from a few minutes prior. Maybe the deep breaths weren't as effective as she thought.

"Good morning." Tsubasa holds no such anger. Instead she seems rather happy, and Maki notices that she has a slip of paper in her hand. Tsubasa places the paper face up onto Maki's stand. "I would like to issue a challenge." Her voice is as smooth as always, and Maki's too disappointed from her chat with Honoka to really feel any rage at the challenge. It's not like she doesn't challenge herself every single day. She probably deserves some of her own medicine for once.

Maki plucks the paper off of her stand, it looks like Ms. Aida picked some standard sections for them to play. She attempts to push a half-assed smile onto her face as she turns back towards Tsubasa. "I accept."

Despite the overwhelming confidence she felt at the start of practice, as band continues Maki starts to feel rage bubble within her at being challenged. Surely Tsubasa's noticed she's trying to move up in the section, unless she somehow hasn't noticed that she challenges every day.

Maki cringes when she misses a key change, she really should write that in. It's just so difficult to focus with her head spinning like this. She works hard and practices every day to try and beat Honoka. She even bowed her head in the most pathetic way possible before class today, and got shot down! Now Tsubasa thinks she can stroll in and take her seat?

There's no way she's going to let that happen. Maki makes sure to pay extra attention when they play through the parts of music that her challenge will be on. It's been a while since she's prepped for a second part challenge, so this will be interesting.

* * *

To Maki's horror, things completely fall apart after class. Tsubasa plays first as the challenger, and Maki can almost feel her impending doom as she listens. Tsubasa's perfectly in tune, and her tone sounds perfect even when she has a couple slurs. Her eyes stay locked onto the music as she plays, but Maki's attention is on her fingers as they click through the part.

Tsubasa finishes smoothly, though she doesn't look over at Maki even after stopping. Her eyes are still locked forward, maybe out of respect for her competition?

Maki raises her own trumpet after a couple seconds and begins to play. It's the same exact part as what she always plays in class, but even to her own ears it sounds off. Is Nico listening? Her eyes slide off the music to her right, and sure enough Nico's pigtails enter her line of sight. The teen is facing away from her in preparation for her own challenge, but Maki's sure she's listening. Her eyes snap back to the music so she can read the next part, and she realizes she's not even sure if she played that last segment correctly. She attempts to power through, and eventually stumbles to the end.

The room is in complete silence when Maki lowers her horn, and that's enough to tell her how badly she played. Ms. Aida remains quiet for a moment, then calmly informs them that Tsubasa has won the challenge.

Of course she won. Maki clenches her fingers down on the valves of her trumpet, tilting her head forward slightly so her hair falls forward. Tsubasa politely thanks her for the challenge and exits her seat. Despite being furious with Tsubasa earlier, Maki's only mad at herself now. She's the one who let herself get distracted during her challenge, and she's the one who played so horrifically that she should probably be last chair instead of fourth.

Ms. Aida walks over to officiate the clarinet challenge, which Nico wins easily. Now she's third chair, which means she only needs to win two more challenges.

Maki avoids eye contact as she finally rises from her chair and goes to her trumpet locker. She doesn't want to hear anything from Nico about this, especially not after the comment she made yesterday.

Luck's not on her side though, since Nico saunters over to her as soon as Ms. Aida leaves them alone. "Aww that's too bad." Nico coos. "Maybe next time. Until then, I'll hold off on challenging, as a favor to you."

Maki keeps her head down and attempts to completely shut out her ex-friend. The comment stings, especially since it's becoming more clear with each passing day who the better player is. She opens her trumpet case and places the horn in side with as much grace as she can muster, which isn't very much.

Nico bores her gaze into the side of Maki's head for about ten more seconds, then she shrugs and turns to walk away. Maki makes sure not to look over as her footsteps fade away.

* * *

Rin always takes advice to heart, so after school she sets out to find a clarinet player. She knows a few clarinet players. There's everyone in their section at school, and maybe a few other people who are just too shy to admit it! It might be difficult to get those people to help her though, so she'll stick with the clarinet section for now.

Asking Umi or Nico will be the quickest way to start learning, so Rin heads to the band room after the bell rings. She also remembers to text Kayo-chin and let her know where she's headed. Sometimes she takes off in some random direction after school and forgets to tell anyone. Then, Kayo-chin has to run around the whole school looking for her! Rin would rather not be a burden to Kayo-chin.

She reaches the band room in record time, but a preliminary scan only reveals a couple tuba players and one trombonist. None of these are the clarinet, so Rin scooches to the back of the room and waits. There are seven clarinet players, so there's a pretty high chance that at least one of them will show up.

A couple minutes pass, and a few other students mingle in the room. Still no clarinet players, and Rin's starting to get bored. She taps her foot and hums her timpani part to help pass the time.

The band room door opens, and finally a familiar face steps in. It's Maki! She's getting her instrument, maybe to take it home? Maki waves lightly when she notices Rin on the back wall, and once she has her trumpet she turns back towards the door.

Maki plays the trumpet, and while that's not the clarinet, Rin thinks it's probably close enough. She can always try to find a clarinet player tomorrow. Abandoning her original notion, Rin springs forward to cut Maki off from the band exit. "Maki!" She latches onto her friend's shoulder, accidentally bumping her knees against the trumpet case. "Whatcha doin?"

Maki usually smiles at Rin's greetings, but today her lips stay locked in place as she hoists her trumpet case. "I'm going to practice a bit."

"Ooh can I sit with you?" Rin bounces on her toes and gives Maki the brightest smile in her arsenal. "Pleeeeeeease I won't bother you I just want to listen."

Maki studies her face for a moment, and Rin wonders if maybe she'll straight up offer her trumpet lessons. How cool would that be? It's sort of unrealistic to expect though, but Rin always says to expect the unexpected!

"You can come." Maki steps around Rin with practiced ease and motions for her to follow into the hallway.

Rin skips after her, "Yay!" The two step into an open practice room, and Maki shuts the door. There's a piano in the corner, so Rin sits down on the piano bench as Maki sets her trumpet up in front of the one music stand in the room. She turns the stand so it's facing towards the door, which puts her facing towards Rin. Rin faces towards the piano for a moment, and she ghosts her hands over the keys as she asks, "Do you practice a lot after school?"

Maki nods, but stays silent as she's finally ready to start practicing. Maki stands perfectly straight as she raises her trumpet. She inhales and starts to play a scale. She goes up the scale and down the scale, then changes starting notes and plays the next one. Rin thinks it's amazing she can play such a wide variety of notes. The timpani is limited to a few for each one.

Once she's played a handful of scales, Maki switches to long tones, and then she tunes with her electronic tuner. Maki shuffles her music around next, and starts playing what Rin assumes to be her part in their performance music. It does sound familiar, though it's not the high trumpet part that Rin's used to hearing. Rin wants to ask about it, so she waits until Maki stops playing. "What part is that?"

"It's second part," The response comes out slightly bitter sounding, and Rin finds herself rising so she can walk around and look at the music. As she walks Maki continues talking, "Tsubasa and I play second."

Rin's glances over at Maki as she finally reaches the correct side of the stand, and the emotion she sees swimming in her purple eyes is more than she's expecting. She must have some strong feelings about playing second part. "What's wrong with second part?"

Maki flinches at the question, "There's nothing wrong with it per say… It's just not first." Maki balances her trumpet in her left hand in order to motion towards the music with her right. "It's not the melody, it's all harmonizing and bottom parts."

"That's my favorite part of the music!" Rin throws out the first thought that enters her mind. It's the truth too, she loves hearing chords and how everything comes together. "The band wouldn't sound half as good without the second part!"

Maki still looks unconvinced, and her finger rises up to twirl her hair. "I get that." Maki's eyes shift to the ground, "I'm just selfish I suppose, not to mention my contest with Nico." Maki lets out a bitter laugh, "Did you hear what she said to me after band today?"

"I didn't," Rin doesn't remember hearing anything at lunch today, Maki was silent the entire time.

Maki responds, "Well you know I lost to Tsubasa this morning. After my challenge Nico had the gall to walk over and tell me that she's going to take a challenge break _for my benefit_ because I lost. How ridiculous is that. We all know that I can't win, so why's she trying to drag this out." Maki grits her teeth. "She should just put me out of my misery."

Rin shakes her head. "Maki, that's a mean mean mean thing for her to say, but you know Nico doesn't mean it."

"I think she does mean it," Maki's voice comes out low, and it makes Rin sad that she feels this way. Nico and Maki are supposed to be friends, why do they say these mean things to each other.

Rin places on hand on Maki's shoulder and turns her so they're facing towards each other. "I know for a fact that Nico doesn't mean it. You're an incredible trumpet player! I think you'll definitely be able to take your chair back from Tsubasa, and then even push upward! You just need to believe in yourself! If Nico says these things than she's lying!" Rin gives Maki's shoulder a firm shake before releasing her. She feels relieved when a slight smile grazes Maki's expression.

"Thank you Rin." Maki's hands once again close around her trumpet. "I'm glad I have a friend like you."

Rin hops backwards in order to give Maki a little breathing room. "Anytime, nya! Now, will you play the part again for me? The one you're challenging Tsubasa on."

Maki raises her trumpet to her lips and starts from the beginning. She's slowed the tempo for this play through, and it really helps to warm her tone. Rin loves this part about brass instruments, they sound so nice in a way that other instruments can't really match. Maki finishes nicely and lowers her horn. "What did you think?" She turns and asks.

"I think you sound great!" Rin doesn't hesitate with her praise. "It's like you and the trumpet were one person!"

Maki laughs, "Well we are one person, but I think I get what you mean."

Maki seems to be in a much better mood now, so Rin thinks it's time for her to return to her original goal when she followed Maki in here. "Hey Maki, can I ask you a silly question?" She knows Maki won't say no, and sure enough the redhead nods for her to continue. "How do you make different notes come out? Like I can see you changing which buttons are pressed down but sometimes it's the same pattern with a different note."

Maki's eyes shift down to her trumpet and her lips press together. She clicks each valve thoughtfully. "It's mostly with your embouchure." Maki turns the trumpet so Rin can see the mouthpiece. "You make your lips vibrate into the mouthpiece, then you use your face muscles to change the pitch."

Maki pulls the trumpet mouthpiece out of the rest of the horn and buzzes from low to high. Rin does notice her face changing slightly as she buzzes, but Rin's not sure she'll be able to make the same sounds.

"Can I try?" Rin bounces on her toes and tucks her hands behind her back. She knows she's keeping Maki from practicing at this point, but she's super curious.

Maki agrees and passes her the mouthpiece. "Here you go, try buzzing. Just press your lips together and try making a bzzt sound into the mouthpiece." Maki draws her eyebrows together. "Err, does that make sense? It's like when you make fart sounds." Maki attempts to demonstrate, exhaling and allowing her lips to flap against each other. The sound reminds Rin of an engine.

Rin hoists the mouthpiece that's now in her right hand. It's much smaller and lighter than she was expecting considering the whole instrument makes such a big sound. She presses her lips together as instructed and pushes the mouthpiece firmly against them.

Rin realizes she forgot to inhale first. She quickly sucks air in through her nose, then pushes air through the mouthpiece. Her efforts turn out a bit better than her attempt at the oboe that morning, and a weak buzzing sound comes out of the mouthpiece. Rin can feel her cheeks pushing out from the pressure, but when she attempts to make the buzzing sound louder it fades completely.

Rin pulls the mouthpiece away after a moment, and she grins widely at her friend. "I did it!"

Maki looks impressed, "That was good for your first time." Maki passes over the rest of the trumpet. "Here try playing on this now. I'll help you with the fingerings."

Rin takes the trumpet with her left hand so she can stick the mouthpiece into place. She twists it experimentally, but that doesn't seem to do anything. It'll just stay in on its own? That's very different from this morning, the oboe had corks locking its parts into place. Maybe the brass has magic magnets in it? Rin decides not to worry about it and once again squishes her lips together, but this time she makes sure to inhale deeply first. She raises the horn and attempts to squeeze some air through her lips, and once again sound does come out. It sounds nothing like the sounds Maki can make, but sound is sound.

On her right, Maki keels forward, and Rin pauses when she hears wholehearted laughter coming from her friend. "That bad huh?"

Maki attempts to cease her laughing once she hears Rin's question, and she straightens her back and waves her arms in front of her. "No no, it's not that. You sound great for a beginner. It just kind of sounds like a dying cow." Maki let's out one last laugh as she moves one hand to cover her mouth. "It reminds me of when I first started learning." Maki lowers her hands back to her sides, "The sound you made was ten times better than what I did on my first try. I think you have a real knack for it Rin."

Rin's heart soars at the compliment. She once again raises the trumpet, "Thank you! Will you help me a little more then?"

"Sure," Maki steps towards the music stand to shuffle through her music. "Let's learn some fingerings."

Rin turns her head to watch, but suddenly gets distracted as her phone buzzes in her pocket. She pulls it out and the name "Kayo-chin" flashes across the screen. Rin still has the oldies flip phone, but it's really all she needs. She clicks open the lid to read Kayo-chin's message.

 **Time: 3:00 PM**

From: Hanayo (Kayo-chin)

To: Rin (Rin 3)

 _Hey where are you? I'm in the band room but I don't see you anywhere. It's time to head home_

Oh that's right, Rin did tell Kayo-chin she was going to be in the band room. Maki's finished filtering through her music at this point, and she looks excited to teach. Rin shoots her an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry Maki, Kayo-chin is looking for me, so I gotta go." She turns her phone so Maki can see the text.

Maki's expression remains the same, so Rin can't tell if she's truly disappointed. "All right, I'll see you tomorrow then." She opens her hands to take back the trumpet, and after a quick goodbye Rin slides out the door.

* * *

 **Wednesday: 11 days.**

When Eli agreed to become the section leader of the trumpet section, she wasn't expecting quite this much drama. Nothing like this happened when she was a first or second year, but now all of the sudden everyone's fighting with everyone and no one is satisfied with their chair. Eli thinks that Maki sitting third as a first year is pretty impressive, why can't she just be happy with her seat? Then Tsubasa sensed vulnerability and claimed the chair for herself. She still plays second part, so what was the point? Maki challenging for second at least makes sense because then she gets to play first part, but Eli digresses.

Eli's newest challenge comes from a completely unexpected source. The bread lover who sits second brings her own set of problems to their group of nine, but she doesn't usually cause trouble at band.

Today she seems to be making up for two years of trouble free times in one class period. The source of the problem, her new seat mate Tsubasa. Previously the two of them only had one seat between them, which is only about 16 inches. Now it's about three inches, but the Honoka's acting an observer may think they'd never met before.

Band practice has been in session for about twenty minute, and in those twenty minutes Honoka's exhibited the following behavior. First, she's missed ten entrances. Second, she's bizarrely flat and somehow hasn't noticed yet. Third, she hasn't emptied her spit yet and the gurgling sound is growing stronger with every note. In summary, she's late, flat, and gurgling. All because her fellow second year moved 13 inches closer. It doesn't make any sense. Eli decides to address these issues in one fell swoop.

She turns her head to address Honoka, but all she can see is a mass of hair as Honoka's chittering away with Tsubasa. That's probably the fourth problem, since Tsubasa has also missed ten entrances, but she's not quite as out of tune.

"Psssst Honoka," Eli hisses.

Honoka turns her head back towards Eli, and she seems blissfully ignorant about any problems which just makes Eli more angry. "Hi!" she whispers back happily.

Eli fights back the urge to facepalm. She takes a deep breath before speaking. "Pull out your tuning slide or I will murder you."

"Oh…" Honoka glances down at her trumpet. "It is a little far in today I suppose." She pulls the slide out a tiny bit. "Thanks Eli!"

"There's more," Eli motions towards the ground as she speaks. "Empty your spit valve, and please focus."

Honoka pouts, "I always focus Eli." She does raise her trumpet to empty her spit. Eli winces at the large puddle that forms at her feet, that's way too much spit

Eli shakes her head with a sigh, "Do you know how many entrances you've missed today?"

Honoka shrugs, "Like, one?"

"Ten, you've missed ten. We've only been playing for twenty minutes, do you know how hard that is to do?" Eli scowls, and Honoka looks down toward her lap.

"Sorry Eli, I'll try harder." Honoka does look apologetic, so Eli lets her off the hook… for now. She turns back towards her music, and things go smoothly for about five minutes. Then Honoka misses another entrance, and then when she does come in she plays three wrong notes within one lick.

They stop again, and this time Ms. Aida turns towards them and asks if something's wrong. Eli apologizes on their behalf but after she turns to address another section she leans back over into Honoka's space.

"Hononka… can you give me twenty more minutes of focus? That's not too much to ask for, is it?" Despite it coming out as a question, there's really only one answer Eli's looking for and that's compliance.

Tsubasa notices their conversation and leans into Honoka's opposite side, "Yeah Honoka, you need to pay attention." She teases her lightly and elbows her gently in the side. Eli stares in disbelief as Honoka giggles at the comment.

Beyond Tsubasa Eli notices Maki leaning back on her chair, probably to tell her something around the two idiot second years. Eli leans back as well and she's relieved when she a shared annoyance on Maki's face. "This is why I need to win."

Eli changes her mind, commiseration canceled. "Not now Maki."

"Trumpet section!" Four heads snap to the front of the room at the same time. Ms. Aida has her arms crossed and is tapping her foot as she looks over the section. "I don't know what's going on today, but please sort it out _after_ class."

Eli once again apologizes for the misbehavior in her section, and she nudges Honoka who also bows her head. She seems slightly more repentant than previously. Class wraps up without any further alterations, and Eli lingers after class to see if Maki wins her challenge.

Despite criticizing Maki for making the comment, Eli does want to see her pull out the win. Anything that can help Honoka calm down is a good thing. Maki looks determined, but if anything Tsubasa looks even more determined. Ms. Aida walks over and the two play. They sound about equal, so today's a tie. Maki's expression twists in disappointment, but Eli thinks she'll be able to win tomorrow. Unfortunately, that means she'll have one more day to deal with Honoka.

* * *

Nozomi thinks that Eli seems a little on edge when they get to lunch that day. She definitely noticed the rowdy behavior from the trumpet section today, but it was mostly Tsubasa and Honoka, so that's not really Eli's fault. Her long time friend has always shouldered other people's burdens, so she's probably feeling the pressure from today's incident.

The two of them get to lunch first, with Nico arriving shortly after. Kotori and Umi also sit down with them today, which is nice since they have to share their time with the first years.

Eli brought a salad for lunch today, and she munches on it angrily from her seat at the end of the table. Nozomi sits across from her and watches her stab more lettuce with vigor. It's endearing how angry she is, but Nozomi does think she should calm her down before Honoka arrives.

"Eli, I think the salad is already dead." Nozomi starts with a joke, but it only increases Eli's aggression towards her lunch.

"Nozomi… What am I going to do?" Eli's eyebrows knit together as her worry shines through the front of anger. "Today was so bad, it's like they've never played the trumpet before." Eli looks up from her salad so her bright blue eyes meet Nozomi's. "Tomorrow will be more of the same."

"You don't know that," Nozomi breaks the eye contact so she can look down at her backpack. "It was just something new, I bet Honoka will calm down in no time." She opens the front zipper and digs around inside for a moment, successfully retrieving her tarot cards.

Eli nods somberly, "She'll get adjusted eventually, but that could take weeks! I need her to focus now. She made us look so bad in front of Ms. Aida today."

Nozomi shrugs as she starts to shuffle her deck. "I think it's out of your hands this time." Nozomi stops shuffling and extends the cards towards Eli, "Would you like to cut?"

Eli shakes her head so Nozomi draws the cards back in and flips over the top one. It's an upside down star. "The cards say you're doomed to fail."

"I have to try anyway." Eli twists her lips as the card sits in front of her. "Maybe I'll be able to prove your cards wrong for once."

Nozomi holds back a chuckle because she knows laughter might just upset Eli right now, "Maybe."

As if on queue, Honoka arrives at the table. She sits down on the opposite side of Kotori, as far from the third years as she can. After a second she starts to stand back up, "Maybe I should eat with the first years today."

"Stay," Eli snaps, which she punctuates by stabbing into her salad again. "Please explain to us what happened today."

Honoka sits down slowly, "Hehehe, what can I say? I had an off day I guess." Honoka opens her lunch and focuses her gaze on it.

"You had an off day?" Eli's voice escalates as she mimics the statement. "You won't even admit that you were distracted by Tsubasa?"

"It's more than just that," Umi interjects into the conversation, then falls silent.

Kotori continues for her. "She's not just friends with Tsubasa…"

"Stop!" Honoka flails her arms between her two friends, "Why are you spilling all of my secrets?"

Kotori ignores her and keeps talking, "She has a crush on Tsubasa."

"Ohhhhhhh" Honoka sounds the most surprised out of everyone, "I can't believe you said it."

Kotori turns towards her friend calmly, "They should know."

Nozomi finds herself grinning at the news, "That's cute!" She glances over at Eli, but her friend remains silent for the moment, "How long have you liked her for?"

"Shh not so loud," Honoka leans into the group and tries to speak quietly, though for her that's still a pretty high volume, "And I dunno? Ever since I met her I guess, so just over a year."

Eli finally finds her voice, "So why's it only a problem now? She was one chair over this entire time, just a few inches further from you." Her voice is layered with irritation, which means Nozomi failed her original objective of calming Eli prior to Honoka's arrival.

The bread lover has a pretty good answer to Eli's question. "Well, Maki's really tall, so I couldn't see Tsubasa around her. Leaning over to talk to Tsubasa was too difficult, and mostly it annoyed Maki."

"Well you're annoying me now." Eli drops her salad fork so she can cross her arms. "Please deal with it."

"How do I deal with it?" Honoka turns towards her fellow second years, but both shrug.

Nozomi raises one of her arms to get their attention. "Just ask her out."

Eli groans, "That'll cause even more problems Nozomi, then they'll be all goo goo eyes during class and will pay even less attention."

Honoka's gaze snaps back to them, "You think she likes me back?"

"Of course that's what you took away from what I said," Eli pauses for a moment. "I honestly have no idea if she likes you or not."

Nozomi winks, "That's why you'll need to ask."

Honoka raises on first in determination, "I definitely will!"


	6. Chapter 6

Publishing this right now is not the most productive thing I could be doing (considering I'm working on a new nano project) but here we are.

* * *

 **Time: 5:00 PM**

From: Rin (Rin 3)

To: Hanayo (Kayo-chin)

 _kayo-chinnnnnnnnn!_

 **Time: 5:02 PM**

From: Rin (Rin 3)

To: Hanayo (Kayo-chin)

 _can I come to your ensemble practice on friday nya?_

 **Time: 5:05 PM**

From: Hanayo (Kayo-chin)

To: Rin (Rin 3)

 _Sure! I don't see why not, though it might be kind of boring for you_

 **Time: 5:08 PM**

From: Rin (Rin 3)

To: Hanayo (Kayo-chin)

 _I'm never bored when I'm with you kayo-chin!_

 **Time: 5:30 PM**

From: Honoka (Idiot)

To: Umi (Bestest Friend Pt 1)

 _Hey was it really obvious earlier? About me with tsubasa I didn't know everyone could tell and all_

 **Time: 5:33 PM**

From: Umi (Bestest Friend Pt 1)

To: Honoka (Idiot)

 _Of course it was obvious. You wear your emotions on your sleeve._

 **Time: 5:38 PM**

From: Honoka (Idiot)

To: Umi (Bestest Friend Pt 1)

 _My whole brain gets frazzled you know? Like I'm having perfectly normal thoughts and then suddenly I get a whiff of her hair and my whole brain just stops working. Do you know what I mean?_

 **Time: 5:39 PM**

From: Umi (Bestest Friend Pt 1)

To: Honoka (Idiot)

 _I do._

 **Time: 5:43 PM**

From: Umi (Bestest Friend Pt 1)

To: Honoka (Idiot)

 _You just need to control yourself during class. I thought Eli was going to strangle you today._

 **Time: 5:45 PM**

From: Honoka (Idiot)

To: Umi (Bestest Friend Pt 1)

 _Haha me too my life flashed before my eyes._

 **Time: 5:46 PM**

From: Honoka (Idiot)

To: Umi (Bestest Friend Pt 1)

 _Do you wanna hang out this weekend? Next weekend is solo and ensemble so we'll be super swamped then I wanna do something fun._

 **Time: 5:46 PM**

From: Honoka (Cute Friend)

To: Kotori (Bestest Friend Pt 2)

 _Hi friend lets do something fun this weeked!_

 **Time: 5:47 PM**

From: Umi (Bestest Friend Pt 1)

To: Honoka (Idiot)

 _Sure let's decide what we want to do at school tomorrow._

 **Time: 5:48 PM**

From: Kotori (Bestest Friend Pt 2)

To: Honoka (Cute Friend)

 _Sure!_

 **Time: 6:15 PM**

From: Eli (Eli)

To: Maki (Maki)

 _Good luck on your challenge tomorrow! I'm rooting for you._

 **Time: 6:17 PM**

From: Maki (Maki)

To: Eli (Eli)

 _Thank you! I'll give it my all I really want to win._

 **Time: 6:20 PM**

From: Maki (Maki)

To: Eli (Eli)

 _Honoka was acting extra weird today wasn't she? Like during band and all. She wasn't playing very well._

 **Time: 6:22 PM**

From: Eli (Eli)

To: Maki (Maki)

 _She was. We talked about it earlier so everything is under control._

 **Time: 6:23 PM**

From: Eli (Eli)

To: Maki (Maki)

 _I still hope you win though._

* * *

 **Thursday – 10 days**

After her scolding on the previous day, Honoka's determined to not let Eli down. The third year's always been there for Honoka, and now it's her time to return the favor.

She has to focus during band today. Concentrating has never come easily to Honoka, but being sandwiched between Maki and Eli during band helped her in the past. Neither of them tolerated her unruly behavior.

Tsubasa is a bit more lenient than her redheaded predecessor. She's also much cuter and nicer. Today's the second day of her sitting in Maki's old seat, and she greets Honoka with a warm smile at the start of band. A few butterflies flitter in Honoka's stomach at the kind greeting. She's also wearing a flower hairpin which makes her look extra adorable today.

Honoka pushes down her nerves and grins back as she takes her seat. "Happy Thursday!"

"Happy almost Friday." Tsubasa shifts her knees so she can fully face Honoka. "How's your morning going so far?" Tsubasa continues to swivel her knees until they gently nudge Honoka's. The butterflies are back as the contact sends a shiver up her spine.

Honoka twists her face to the right to hide her face. Her response comes out rushed as she spits out all four words in the amount of time one should take, "It's going good thanks!"

Tsubasa moves away with a murmured apology, which helps to release some of the nasty butterflies lingering in her gut. "Mine is too, especially now that I'm at band."

Honoka can agree with that, she also loves band.

"Ahem," Eli clears her throat on their right. She already sounds irritated, so Honoka ducks her head as she turns towards the right.

She can't be too mad, right? Class hasn't even started yet. "Good morning Eli!"

"I hope you remember what we discussed yesterday." Eli skips her greeting and chooses to cut right to getting angry.

It makes sense, they just got there and Honoka's already been distracted instead of warming up for class. Tsubasa's listening intently to their conversation, but she doesn't interject. Honoka wonders if she she's curious about their topic. She probably is, Honoka knows she would be if she heard people talking right next to her. She can't tell her of course, because to admit everything to Tsubasa would be to reveal that she has a crush on her, and she can't do that.

Obviously Tsubasa doesn't like her back. She's not showing any of the usual signs. Honoka has a few critera that she runs someone against in order to determine if they like her. These criteria are based off of her friends.

Nico and Maki are fighting right now so Honoka can't reference them. She's also not sure about Eli's intentions towards Nozomi, but they do spend a lot of time together. There's also a chance though that she could like Umi. Thinking too much about that triangle hurts Honoka's brain.

Really, the only solid pair she can compare Tsubasa to is Rin and Hanayo. The two of them have known each other for over ten years, which is longer than Honoka's known them. They're always together, and they're always talking. Even if they have nothing to say they still can sit in comfortable silence and it looks nice. They also hang out after school almost every day. Basically, they're always together.

Looking at Tsubasa, she doesn't meet any of these criteria. They only talk before and directly after band. They've never done anything together after school. It's not like Honoka doesn't want to do these things, because she does, it just seems like Tsubasa doesn't want to. She hasn't asked to after all. If Tsubasa did want to do these cutesy date things, then she'd definitely ask.

So, that's why she can't tell her. Honoka's thought a lot about this, and it makes perfect sense. She likes being friends with Tsubasa, and having a bit of something is better than having nothing right? She's probably giving herself away with all this blushing and stammering. Eli may seems strict but she's probably just trying to help her out.

She realizes she forgot to respond to her friend. She pops a thumbs up in her direction. "I won't let you down!"

She's not sure if Eli believes her. It's time for class to start so she shifts her attention to the front of the room. She raises her trumpet in time with Ms. Aida, and even hits all of her entrances. She feels a surge of happiness as they play as a group. Then her eyes shift left, and she notices Tsubasa taking a deep breath on her left. Wow she's so good at breathing. Honoka wonders if she can ask for lessons later, would be that be too creepy.

An entrance slips by, and Honoka wince as she notices Eli's grip visibly tighten on her trumpet. The orange haired teens narrows her eyes and scoots to the front of her chair so the bell of her horn is only a few inches from her music stand. There, now it's much harder to look away.

This seems to help, and she gets through the first thirty minutes of class without any more slip ups. When the take a break she keeps her eyes down in her lap, and maybe Tsubasa thinks she isn't feeling well since she keeps to herself.

"Are you feeling all right?" Oh Honoka spoke too soon. Tsubasa's leaned towards her slightly and speaks just above a whisper into her ear. The air from her exhaling tickles Honoka's ear and neck and she hopes her fellow teen can't see the red creeping up her ears.

She nods fervently. "I'm fine!" Her voice comes out a bit too loud and she draws the attention of the clarinets sitting in front of her. They spin in their seats but she waves them off with a quick apology. The question just surprised her is all. "Sorry…"

The clarinets turn back around wordlessly, leaving her to talk once again with Tsubasa. Eli's also looking over at her after the outburst.

"Sorry Tsubasa, I didn't mean to shout so loudly." Honoka bows her head during her apology.

Much to her surprised, Tsubasa lets out a light chuckle. "No worries! You're very lively, that's something I like about you."

"Oh…" Honoka's face warms at the comment. She's grateful that her head is bowed and she keeps it that way for a few moments longer. "Thank you." She realizes that she's once again allowed herself to be distracted, so she shifts to talk with Eli.

The blonde third year holds up one hand to stop her before she can speak. "Don't worry about it. You're doing fine today." Eli leans in and lowers her voice. "It's okay to talk a little bit, you just can't let it hinder rehearsal."

That makes sense. In hindsight, Honoka thinks she should've realized that a bit sooner. "Thanks Eli," She whispers back, and then turns happily back towards her music. Balance is good, she can be perfectly normal and still talk with Tsubasa, she just has to focus on playing when it's time to play.

Class wraps up quickly after that, and since Honoka doesn't have to worry about a challenge today she gets up right away to put her trumpet away. She glances over her shoulder and sees Maki and Tsubasa warming up for their challenge. She wants to hear Tsubasa play, so she ends up lingering near the door. It's also to support Maki, since she's her dear friend and all.

Maki plays first. Honoka thinks she sounds great today, her tone is on point and she holds the tempo really well. Tsubasa performs second, and even though Honoka may be slightly biased she has to admit that Maki sounds better today. Ms. Aida agrees with her and announces that Maki will reclaim the third chair.

Honoka's not sure what to feel at this point. She's happy for Maki, but also sad because she finally got used to her new seatmate. Sitting next to Tsubasa was so much more fun than sitting next to Maki.

Wait a minute… Maki will definitely challenge her tomorrow right? So Honoka could still sit next to Tsubasa, and she'll have the added bonus of getting one seat away from super strict Eli. The only minus is that she'll lose the opportunity to play first part, it might be worth it to sit next to Tsubasa though…

Honoka pulls out her cell phone, she needs to double check, but if they say yes then she can do it with a clear conscience.

 **Time: 10:48 AM**

From: Honoka (Honoka)

To: Eli (Dad)

 _Can I pleeeeeeeeeeeease throw the challenge with maki tomorrow?_

 **Time: 10:49 AM**

From: Eli (Dad)

To: Honoka (Honoka)

 _No. Why are you texting me are you not coming to lunch?_

 **Time: 10:53 AM**

From: Honoka (Honoka)

To: Eli (Dad)

 _We are sitting with maki and them today I think. Anyway you didn't even let me explain! I think if we let maki win her challenge thing it'll end the fighting!_

 **Time: 10:57 AM**

From: Eli (Dad)

To: Honoka (Honoka)

 _You worked hard for your chair. Maki and Nico's fight is asinine and childish. I think allowing her to move up will only escalate their fight. Do you really think it will help, or do you have an ulterior motive?_

 **Time: 10:58 AM**

From: Honoka (Honoka)

To: Eli (Dad)

 _I really do think it will help! Please eli I wanna throw it so bad_

 **Time: 10:59 AM**

From: Eli (Dad)

To: Honoka (Honoka)

 _The answer is still no._

* * *

 **Friday – 9 days**

Eli has to stay late the next day after band. She knows how Honoka thinks, or it might be better to say she knows how unpredictable her under classman is. She said she wouldn't throw the competition, but Eli feels that her presence may help to remind the bread lover what she previously agreed on.

She's currently standing near her locker and just placed her trumpet back inside it. She locks the instrument up and decides to share a couple words with Maki and Honoka before their challenge starts. She walks quickly over to where they are seated. Ms. Aida is handling a trombone challenge across the band, so she should have a couple of minutes to speak with them. Honoka brings her trumpet down when she enters her line of sight, but after a second she realizes who it is and nervously hoists the trumpet to block her face. She's smiling sheepishly behind her cover, "Hi Eli."

Maki twists away from them and continues to play, she must want to get every second of practice in that she can. Eli decides to leave her alone and focus on the girl who's slowly sinking into her chair. "Hi Honoka."

There's more sheepish grinning, then Honoka extends her trumpet towards Eli as if to show her she has it, "I was practicing..." Honoka pauses and turns her trumpet so the bell is pointing towards the music. Eli remains silent so she adds on, "For my challenge."

Eli crosses her arms and she can see her friend visibly gulp. "That's good, since it's an important challenge."

Honoka nods fervently, "You know I always give 110%!"

Under normal circumstances Eli would agree, but as Eli opens her mouth to vocalize her concerns she notices that Maki's stopped playing and is pointedly staring at them. She looks concerned. "What's going on?" Her eyes shift up to Eli, "Is something wrong?"

Eli realizes how strange she must look talking to Honoka like this prior to a challenge. She's never done so in the past. She takes a step away from the two seated students, and her arms uncross so she can hold them up between them. "No everything is fine. Sorry for disturbing you while you practiced."

"It's no problem at all," Maki responds easily and goes back to practicing.

Eli decides to retreat for now, she doesn't want anyone to accuse her of disturbing the challenge. Although, it's not like many people are left in the classroom at this point. The trombones have just finished their challenge so they're over at their lockers now. One euphonium player is asking Ms. Aida a question, and the only other person in the room is lingering near the door. Eli squints, is that Nico? Her fellow third year has half ducked behind a stack of chairs, but she can see the telltale pigtails sticking out on the side. Eli smiles to herself, Nico's just as interested in the outcome of this challenge as Eli, though probably for a different reason. Eli needs to talk with her later.

For now, Eli pretends she didn't notice her and walks back to her locker in order to wait out the challenge. She watches as Ms. Aida approaches them and Maki begins to play. Eli doesn't typically stick around for the challenge, so it's her first time hearing Maki perform alone in a while. The first year's refined her tone and also her patience with the music. Eli spares a glance over at the stack of chairs and she thinks Nico looks begrudgingly impressed. Her eyebrows are knit tightly together, and she has one hand gripping the side of her hiding place.

Honoka performs second, and she starts off strong. Eli's hopes are shattered when she doesn't seem to be playing as well as she usually does. Her intonation is a bit off, though she holds the tempo nicely. Eli can't help but frown in disappointment as she finishes. It was kind of predictable, but still she was hoping Honoka would last at least one more day.

Ms. Aida pauses before giving the results, maybe she thinks Honoka's not feeling well or something like that? After a brief consideration she declares Maki the winner. The redhead handles it with grace, though Eli's sure she's shouting in celebration on the inside. Honoka bows her head to the underclassman, and the two of them share a few words that Eli can't make out. They start to swap music, so Eli decides to head to lunch ahead of them. She turns towards the door and isn't surprised when the spy who was there a few moments ago has vanished. She follows in her footsteps, there will be plenty of time to get mad at Honoka later.

* * *

Maki winning her challenge puts a chip in Nico's shoulder for the remainder of the day. After taunting her the other day with the break comment, Nico expected Maki to be stuck in fourth for at least another week. To move up from fourth to second in two days goes well beyond her expectations. Now Maki's only one win away from ending their contest, while Nico will need to win twice. It's not like Nico thinks she'll be able to beat Eli, but she could get lucky.

These types of thoughts dominate Nico's brain throughout the school day, and she can't even escape after class ends due to solo and ensemble rehearsal. Their group is having their second practice today, and with the performance only a week away now Nico wonders if they should've practiced more. She doesn't even want to go today, but a quartet needs all of its members.

So after school she drags herself down to the band room for rehearsal. She hopes Nozomi will cut the practice short, last time it was soooo long and of course she had to sneak out before the trumpet trio finished.

Speaking of the trumpet trio, she spots one of its members as she walks down the fine arts hallway. Her good friend Eli is standing near a few practice rooms, and she waves one arm to wave when she spots Nico. Her expression is still as she greets her, is something bothering Eli today?

"Hi," Nico nods in her direction and goes to move past her. She stops in her tracks when Eli clears her throat nervously. "What's up?" She turns and finds herself tilting her head as Eli seems more nervous than Nico's seen her in a long time.

The blonde teen wrings her hands together, "Can I talk to you for a second please? In a practice room?"

Is this about her fight with Maki? Is Eli bothered about her winning her challenge today? What could she possibly have to say that she can't spit out in the hallway? Nico agrees to go with her, though the confirmation doesn't bring any relief to her friend. The two of them step into the nearest practice room, and after Eli shuts the door she slides all the way into the right corner of the room. Nico thinks she knows why, with the door on the left side no one will be able to see her from the hallway. She steps over as well so they're both hidden from sight.

Nico leans against the wall and crosses her arms, "Is this about Maki?"

"No…" Eli's eyebrows crinkle together in confusion, "Why? Did something happen?"

Nico shakes her head rapidly. Wow she was way off. Good going Nico, thinking that Eli would want to talk about her ridiculously petty fight with her friend. "No… No, sorry. What do you want to talk about?"

Eli's eyes shift down to the floor, "I want to talk about Umi."

Of all the topics Nico was expecting, this is probably third or fourth on the list. "Right, the crush thing." Nico pushes off the wall and crosses the room so she can sit down at the piano bench. "Are you thinking about what I said the other day?"

Eli nods, "I've been thinking about everything, and I just… Well what I mean to say is…" Eli trails off, her teeth nibbling on her bottom lip. "How did you figure out you liked someone?"

Nico squints up at her friend, "Eli is that you?" She reaches up to pinch her left cheek, "Is this an alien? The real Eli would never worry about these types of things."

Eli brushes her hand away, "Please Nico, I couldn't think of anyone else to ask."

Nico drops her hands back to her sides. It's a good question, and she does want to help out her friend. "Well as you know, I don't like anyone right now." Nico pauses and waits for Eli's confirmation before she continues, "But I can tell you what I look for in a potential partner. You have to think they're cute of course, it's a good sign if you find yourself imagining them in a super short skirt. Personally, I also want someone that I can talk to a lot, and things don't get boring or anything like that. Also someone who can keep my on my toes, not too predictable." Nico pauses to think through a few more things that she can say. "Wait, are we talking about Nozomi or Umi right now?"

"Nozomi!" Eli bursts out instinctively, and one hand comes up to cover her mouth. Nico bursts out in laughter at the bright red hue that spreads across her face.

"No worries, we've all been there." Nico pats Eli on the shoulder in a joking manner. "Anyway, as far as Nozomi goes just look at all of the time you've spent together, all of the things you've done. You two were practically built for each other."

"Do you really think so?" Eli slowly lowers her hands as she continues to speak. "I know it's silly, but I've felt so uncertain as of late. What with Umi's crush coming into light and Nozomi's been so caring and helpful through the whole thing…" Eli once again pauses and Nico can see her forehead starting to wrinkle, "Does Nozomi want me to get together with Umi? Why would she want that though, unless she wants to get rid of me for some reason..."

Eli's lost in her own head now, and she continues mumbling to herself as Nico watches. It's probably a good thing Eli consulted her and not somebody else, they wouldn't understand Eli's situation as well as Nico does. She stays silent for a moment and lets Eli argue with herself for a few seconds longer. Then she calmly interrupts her, "Eli…" Eli's eyes shift up to meet Nico's as her mouth snaps shut. Nico continues with a dry laugh, "You're over thinking this."

"You're probably right." Eli leans against the wall for support, "I just don't know what to do, you know? I don't even know why I called you in here, I'm probably just going to do nothing." Eli looks down once again, this time her eyes are on her fingers which are still knit tightly together in front of her, "How am I supposed to breach a topic like this, in either direction?"

It takes Nico a moment she means with both Umi and Nozomi. One's a denial and the other a confession. Neither are easy, and Nico doesn't envy her positioning in all of this. She thinks carefully about what direction she wants to go with this. Eli's usually good at deciding a path for herself, if she's asking for guidance Nico wants to make sure she gives her the best advice she can. What can she say that the blonde teen doesn't already know? Nico takes a deep breath, "You just need to be honest with them. Be honest with Umi first, and then go be honest with Nozomi."

"But what if Nozomi doesn't reciprocate?" Eli voices her worries, though Nico thinks it's a silly one.

Nico waves one hand as if to dissipate the concern, "Like I said before I'm sure you're fine. Even if that's the case though, wouldn't you rather get it out of the way now? Nozomi's a kind person, and your friend, she wouldn't abandon you." Nico once again reaches out, but this time she touches Eli's shoulder gently, "You gotta trust your gut."

* * *

As the leader of their small ensemble, Nozomi takes her role quite seriously. This means making sure everyone is properly prepared and also ensuring that their rehearsal go smoothly. So when Nico shows up ten minutes late of course she has to say something. Even though Nico is a third year, or maybe it's especially because she's a third year, Nico can't be late to practice.

She just shrugs them off when confronted, diverting by saying she got held up talking to a friend. Only a few of their friends aren't also in ensemble rehearsal right now, and the only one Nozomi could see Nico being held up by is Rin, but she beats Nico to the practice room by a whole nine minutes. Nozomi wasn't expecting the bright haired first year, but she doesn't mind her sitting in and Rin promises to behave and sit quietly in the corner.

Now that Nico's arrived they can finally get started. Nozomi set the chairs up while she waited so they're already in a perfect arc. Nico sits all the way to the right, followed by Hanayo, then Nozomi, and then finally Anju on the left. They have to play without a conductor, so a lot of focus is on Nozomi who gives them prompts with her oboe. She waits for a moment while Nico constructs her clarinet, then reaches into her backpack for her metronome.

"Last time we got through the music pretty well. This time I want to work on tempo." Nozomi turns on the metronome and adjusts it to 100 beats per minute. She goes to place it on her stand but a hand reaches out and covers her own.

"I can hold it for you!" Rin's enthusiastic voice drifts over her shoulder as her spry fingers ply the metronome from Nozomi. Sure, why not? Nozomi agrees and Rin moves around the chairs so she can stand in the center of their group.

Nozomi raises her oboe and everyone else matches. The metronome clicks steadily, and Nozomi counts the group off. They play through the piece, and Nozomi thinks it sounds pretty good. Everyone's definitely practiced the parts they struggled with last week, and the metronome helps too of course. When they finish the piece they discuss some sections briefly, where they can blend a little better and where Anju can play out a little and Nico can play a little quieter.

Rin stays relatively silent as promised, though she does lean over Hanayo's stand every once in a while to ask her an excited question about their music. Rin seems extra eager today, especially considering she isn't even playing this piece with them, but Nozomi can't be too surprised since this is how Rin typically behaves. She asks Rin to turn the metronome up a few clicks for them, and they try the piece again at its intended tempo of 120 beats per minute.

The piece is a little less stable than at the slower tempo, but this is where they need to be when they perform it next weekend. She has the group play the piece down a few times with the metronome. After the third play through, she can feel the wear from it on her lips and can also see it on the faces of her friends, so they decide to take a short break.

The break seems to energize Rin, who starts barraging Hanayo with even more questions. Nozomi remembers directing her to try out the clarinet a few days ago, and she's guessing it didn't work out and the cat lover has decided to move on to the flute. The questions are rather simple, such as how she makes the sound come out and how she knows which button combination to press down. Hanayo handles the questions with the same kindness that she always expresses with Rin, and from this angle Nozomi thinks they look extra close.

After a few minutes she calls the group back together so they can resume practicing. She still has about 20 minutes until the time she agreed to meet Eli to walk home, so they can get four or five solid run throughs done before then. She forgoes the metronome this time, which does put Rin out of a job. She's not sad though she just goes back to sitting in the corner.

It's more difficult to stay in time without the metronome, but Nozomi thinks they do a solid job. After a few final runs the whole group seems satisfied with their progress, so they decide to pack up. "Are we going to have a couple more practices next week?" Nico asks as she deconstructs her clarinet.

Anju comments as well, "I think that's a good idea."

They probably should. The piece sounds good, but if they want to get a one and move on to states they'll need to make sure it's polished. "What if we practice on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week? Then we can take Thursday and Friday off in order to rest our chops for the weekend."

Hanayo nods, "That works for me."

Nico and Anju both comment that they can attend as well, so that's settled. Nozomi finishes packing up and wishes them all a good weekend, then heads into the hallway in order to meet up with Eli.


End file.
